LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. , 

Shelf +£1-3 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Young Church Member 



BY 




Rev. S, S. McMAHAN, A. M. 



INTRODUCTION BY REV. C. N. SIMS, D. D. 




CINCINNATI: 

WALDEN AND STOWE. 
NEW YORK: PHILLIPS & HUNT. 




Copyright by 
WALDEN & STO WE, 
1882. 



PREFACE. 



It is hoped that this little volume may 
inspire the young Christian with a higher 
sense of his privileges and duties in the 
Church; that it may move him to a more 
lively employment of his talents in the 
interests thereof; that it may develop a 
larger and more systematic benevolence in 
the support of Christian enterprise ; and 
that it may encourage in such intellectual 
pursuits and spiritual activities as may 
develop true personal piety, and enable him 
to perform intelligently and lovingly all the 
duties which devolve on him as a Christian 
and a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

If it shall contribute to these desirable 
ends the purpose of its author will be 
realized. 

S. S. McMAHAN. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 



INTRODUCTION, . . . 5 

CHAPTER I. 
The High Privileges of Church Membership, 9 

CHAPTER II. 
A Full Salvation your Rightful Heritage, 17 

CHAPTER III. 

Means of Grace, 22 

CHAPTER IV. 
Christian Activity, 32 

CHAPTER V. 
Christian Reputation, 42 

CHAPTER VI. 
Religion and Business, 48 

CHAPTER VII. 
Your Financial Duty, 55 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Your Pastor, . 71 



4 INDEX. 

CHAPTER IX. 

PAGE. 



Your Own Church, 78 

CHAPTER X. 
Your Books, 83 

CHAPTER XL 
Use and Abuse of Church Letters, 89 

CHAPTER XII. 
Duty in the Social Meeting, 94 

CONCLUSION, 110 



INTRODUCTION. 



This book is born of the personal expe- 
riences of a Methodist pastor. It treats of the 
needs, the weaknesses, and the temptations of 
the young Church member as they are observed 
by his faithful spiritual adviser. Whoever 
reads it will find that it draws no imaginary 
pictures, but delineates to the life phases of 
character which are everywhere found in the 
Church. Its analysis of mental conditions are 
so vivid and true that to many a reader it will 
seem the voicing of much of his own felt but 
untold experience. It sets forth with great 
clearness and vigor the dignity and privileges 
of Church membership and the obligations 
involved in assuming it. It most happily urges 
the young Christian to higher spiritual life with- 
out bewildering him concerning special pro- 
cesses and experiences. It presents a view of 
the Church well calculated to awaken his affec- 
tion for it, and to stimulate his desire for a 



6 



INTRODUCTION. 



worthy membership. It treats of every phase 
of mental experience to which he is subject, and 
never fails to furnish him wise counsel or needed 
reproof. It lays bare the weaknesses and ex- 
hibits the difficulties which so often hinder 
healthy spiritual development, and then sug- 
gests the means of overcoming these. It is the 
farthest possible from a fault-finding book, and 
yet compels the reader to see his own faults. 
There is not a sarcastic or complaining line in 
the volume, yet it discusses all those hindrances, 
annoyances, perplexities, indiscretions, and trou- 
blesome traits of character which bring to the 
faithful minister so manv heartaches, and so 
often prevent the largest usefulness of the 
Church. 

The wisdom of the advice and the kindness 
with which it is given must win the good will 
of the most censorious reader. 

It is a needed book. It contains helpful sug- 
gestions adapted to more than half our entire 
membership. It might appropriately be entitled 
the Model Church Member, for it leads the 
reader to a contemplation of all the excellences 
and graces of the perfect Christian as exhibited 
in active Church work. 

Perhaps nothing could be of greater practi- 



INTBODUCTION. 



7 



cal value to the entire Church than the broad 
and high conception of its mission, society, and 
dignity which is given in this volume. Placed 
in the hands of the young convert, it must 
awaken in his mind a desire for the best things 
in Christian experience and usefulness. Read 
by nine-tenths of our older members it will dis- 
cover to each some weakness in his own charac- 
ter which ought to be overcome, or reveal to 
him some obligation which he has not hitherto 
sufficiently appreciated. It is written in the 
spirit of devoted, intelligent, evangelical Meth- 
odism. It is well for the Church that these 
pastoxal experiences, gathered from many years 
of faithful labor have been woven together in 
this volume, and their lessons so tenderly and 
forcibly set forth as they have been by the 
author. 

We wish the book a wide circulation, and 
believe that no one can carefully read it with- 
out both pleasure and profit. 

C. K SIMS. 

Syracuse University. 



1 



THE 



Young Church Member. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE HIGH PRIVILEGES OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP. 

You have now come, dear friend, into the 
fellowship of the visible Church; your name is 
enrolled with those who believe in Jesus, and 
your communion is henceforth to be with God's 
people. This new relation entitles you to the 
sacred ordinances of Christ's Church, to the 
spiritual oversight of her pastors, to the con- 
stant use of the means of grace whereby you 
may grow unto holiness, to all the blessings 
which are promised them who belong to the 
household of faith. 

It is an exalted privilege thus to be associ- 
ated -with the worshipers of God. Christ, the 
angels, and the good of this world look on with 
approbation. You are thereby introduced to 
earth's most royal line — to patriarchs and proph- 



10 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



ets, to kings and priests, apostles and martyrs ; 
to the great multitudes of Christ's redeemed ones, 
"all of whom resemble the children of a king:" 
these are your brothers and sisters and neigh- 
bors and fellow-citizens in the kingdom of God. 
Is it nothing to be of so noble a birth, to be so 
happily related? "Born, not of blood, nor of 
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but 
of God." What people can boast so high an 
ancestry? What king can claim so noble a 
royalty ? ' ' Ye who sometime were far off are 
made nigh by the blood of Christ" — are made 
kings and priests unto him that you might 
reign w T ith him for ever — "and are no more 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with 
the saints and of the household of God." 

Consider the nature of the Church with 
which you have now become identified. It is 
not a human institution of recent origin, grown 
out of the current necessities of man, and organ- 
ized for the accomplishment of temporary ends ; 
but it is ancient, ancient as the family of Adam — 
organized of God to meet, not some single phase 
of our numerous wants, but all our social and 
spiritual aspirations and necessities. 

In becoming a member of this divine society 
you did well. It is the will of the Father that 



PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP. 11 



all his dear children should be joined together 
in Christian fellowship. Such a fellowship is 
instinctive to those who claim a common Father 
and are permeated with a common philanthropy. 
Christian spirits are mutually attracted. It is 
only when they are unknown to each other they 
can possibly repel. Among Christians there is 
a felt necessity for such visible union, a neces- 
sity which finds its parallel in various secular 
enterprises. In the prosecution of worldly busi- 
ness, the power of union and concert of action 
have ever been recognized, and to secure these 
valuable ends, organizations have always been 
effected ; hence we have medical associations, 
agricultural associations, bankers' guilds, me- 
chanics' institutes, etc. Why should not Chris- 
tians who are actuated by a common faith and 
love for their mutual edification and comfort 
meet in organized association ? 

" Their fears, their hopes, their aims are one — 
Their comforts and their cares." 

Visible union is invaluable to them. It con- 
tributes to the maintenance of sound doctrine, 
to the preservation 5 ' of the ordinances of Chris- 
tian worship, and to the exercise of that power 



12 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



of godly admonition and discipline which Christ 
has graciously committed to his Church for the 
promotion of holiness." It secures to the indi- 
vidual Christian that protection and brotherly 
aid of which every one feels the need. As in 
union there is strength, so in isolation there is 
weakness. The shrub which grows up in the 
common is soon browsed upon and trampled 
down by the village cattle. The oak of the 
plain that breasts alone the storm is the constant 
target of heaven's thunderbolts; but " they that 
be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flour- 
ish in the courts of our God." 

Now that you are a member of this divine 
society, and a partaker of its blessed privileges 
you should have special regard to your Chris- 
tian conduct, making your life consistent with 
such membership. Though you are in the world 
4 'you are not of the world ;" subject to Csesar, 
yet you possess a higher citizenship : " all things 
are yours," saith Paul, ' < whether the world, or 
life, or death, or things present, or things to 
come; all are yours." "Thou shalt have the 
wmole land for thy park and manor," says Em- 
erson, " the sea for thy bath and navigation, 
without tax and without envy ; the woods and 



PEIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP. 13 

the rivers thou shalt own ; and thou shalt pos- 
sess that wherein others are only tenants and 
boarders. Thou art true landlord ! air-lord ! 
sea-lord !" By God's permission you have access 
to every object in nature, like some one favored 
with the freedom of the city, and like the bee 
to every flower ; yet you are so to use this world 
as not to abuse it ; you are to be above it, have 
the mastery of it, and not be .subservient thereto. 
Your relation to Christ separates you from the 
the world, so that you are not to " follow or be 
led by it." Your life is to be a light to all that 
are in the house; " a city set on a hill," to be 
seen afar off; or as " salt of the earth," it must 
have a pungency that permeates^ society and 
proves a conservator of the world. 

Being a member of Christ's holy Church and 
deriving much social and spiritual help there- 
from, it will be justly expected, therefore, that 
you seek to promote in all laudable ways the 
general welfare of her individual members; 
that you consider their conveniences, necessi- 
ties, and weaknesses ; that you cheerfully share 
their burdens, relieve their distresses, and pre- 
vent as far as possible the stumbling of any 
brother; that you do whatever lies in your 
power to increase the number, the spirituality, 



14 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



and the godly influence of the Bedeemer's king- 
dom. As a member of the Church do not for- 
get the vows which are upon you. 

" A cloud of witnesses around 
Hold thee in full survey." 

Heaven and earth mark all your steps; so 
deport yourself, therefore, as to bring no re- 
proach on the cause which you have espoused. 
Be loyal ; let no institution, however good, even 
for a moment, stand between you and your 
obligations to the Church. Love it, "even as 
Christ also loved the Church, and gave him- 
self for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it 
with the washing of water by the word." Let 
the following familiar verses express your love 
and devotion to the Church : 

" Beyond my highest joys 

I prize her heavenly ways ; 
Her sweet communion, solemn vows, 
Her hymns of love and praise. 

For her my tears shall fall, 

For her my prayers ascend, 
To her my cares and toils be given 

Till toils and cares shall end." 

Perhaps the relation you now sustain to the 
Church is that of a probationer. The principle 
of probation is applied throughout Methodism 



PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP. 15 

iii admitting members into the Church and min- 
isters into the conference. This relation does 
not affect your spiritual privileges or Christian 
duties. It concerns only the external and sec- 
ondary relations of Church membership. You 
are entitled to the rite of baptism immediately 
on becoming a probationer, and also to the sac- 
rament of the Lord's-supper, and to attendance 
upon all established and special meetings for 
spiritual edification. This removes what might 
otherwise be an objection to the probationary 
system of the Church. When it is remembered 
that this relation does not curtail in the least 
any spiritual privilege guaranteed to those in 
full membership, all ground of valid objection 
is removed. In all therefore that concerns the 
spiritual life, you are as truly a member of the 
visible Church while on probation as you ever 
will be ; full membership adds nothing in this 
respect; it only capacitates you for official 
duties, entitles you to a voice in matters sub- 
mitted to a vote of the membership, and secures 
to you a firmer organic relation, all of which 
should be duly appreciated on the part of the 
Church as well as of the candidate for full mem- 
bership. While, therefore, you sustain a pro- 
bationary relation, apply yourself diligently to 
2 



> 



16 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

the study of the doctrines and discipline of the 
Church, and to the development of religious 
experience and practical piety. Study the Bible, 
the book of Discipline, and the Church Hymnal : 
then, when you come to be received into full 
fellowship, you will enter with a degree of intel- 
ligence and religious experience which should 
characterize all members of the Church, and 
which will greatly promote your usefulness and 
happiness throughout all your Christian life. 



FULL SALVATION. 



17 



CHAPTER II. 

A FULL SALVATION YOUR RIGHTFUL HERITAGE. 

Having become a member of the visible 
Church, and by spiritual regeneration a " par- 
taker of the divine nature," your present aspira- 
tion should be a lively growth in grace, the 
early attainment of the "full stature of a man 
in Christ Jesus." A rich experience and an 
abiding love — complete salvation from sin — are 
the rightful heritage of all God's children. 
This is unquestionably the teaching of the 
Holy Scriptures. It is written in the Old Tes- 
tament—and to be understood in its highest 
sense — "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon 
you, and ye shall be clean ; from all your filth- 
iness and from all your idols will I cleanse you." 
And in the New Testament, that "If we con- 
fess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright- 
eousness." Do we not read of the "pure in 
heart;" and are we not exhorted "to go on 
unto perfection," "perfecting holiness in the fear 



18 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



of God ;" and that " he that hath this hope in 
- him purifieth himself even as he is pure?" 
These are but the brief expressions — the frequent 
outflashings — of the great central truth implied 
at least in every book of the sacred volume — 
redemption, complete redemption from all sin 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

That you have not yet attained unto such a 
salvation, that you are still a " babe in Christ," 
being fed with milk and not with meat may be 
no dishonor. No one reproaches you for the 
unavoidable deficiencies of youth. Infancy suf- 
ficiently atones for mental and physical inca- 
pacity. But if you gather no strength, if you 
still continue in the weakness of childhood, and 
have need of milk " when for the time ye ought 
to be teachers," and to use strong meat which 
" belongeth to them that are of full age," then 
you become a subject of both pity and censure. 
There is no apology for dwarfs in the kingdom 
of God. When children are a little grown the 
cradle is pushed aside. 

Having been born into the divine family, 
God expects you, by the constant use of spirit- 
ual nourishment, soon to reach the vigor and 
dignity of spiritual manhood. In whatever way 
you attain to this maturity, nothing short of 



V 



FULL SALVATION. 19 

a full salvation will meet the Gospel standard 
of Christian holiness, or satisfy the spiritual 
demands of the soul. Do not, therefore, for a 
moment, question the possibility and necessity 
of a perfect salvation. Let not a doubt linger 
in your heart, saying, " Who can bring a clean 
thing out of an unclean?" Do not think that 
God, who made the heart and fashioned it, can 
not, now that it is fallen, quite redeem it. If 
yours is not a perfect redemption, how nearly 
perfect is it? God, you confess, has done some- 
what for your soul ; is there somewhat he can 
not do? In the days of his flesh Christ cast 
out many devils ; was there one he could not 
cast out? Is there yet with you some one 
strong stubborn sin, which Jesus can not sub- 
due? 0, do not " limit the Holy one of Israel." 
Doubt not the power of grace to save you fully 
from all sin, from all outward transgression 
and inward pollution — the two forms in which 
it exists. 

This is the uniform teaching of the Church. 
It runs like a golden thread through all her 
theology, hymns, and pulpit literature ; it is 
clearly set forth in many excellent treatises 
specially devoted to this subject ; as in Mr. 
Wesley's " Plain Account," Fletcher's " Chris- 



20 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



tian Perfection," Bishop Peck's " Central Idea 
of Christianity," and other works of more re- 
cent date. 

On being received into full membership in 
our annual conferences, it is asked of every 
preacher, " Do you expect to be made perfect 
in love in this life?" — a question that implies 
both the possibility and desirability of perfect 
love in the present state. This doctrine has not 
been held by the Church as a theory, but rather 
as a life ; and its best verification has been 
found in the happy experiences and consistent 
lives of thousands of her communicants. Such 
a high state of grace is essential to your happi- 
ness and usefulness. Without it your Christian 
career will be a perpetual and unsuccessful con- 
flict with sin — indefinite, feeble, unsatisfactory. 
Like a sickly child, you will be affected by 
every ill wind, easily led astray w T ith the error 
of the wicked, having no power to stand in the 
evil day. Ever weary and fretful, you will go on 
complaining, " Why art thou cast down, O my 
soul, and why art thou disquieted within me?" 

Would you be a secure and happy Chris- 
tian? Seek perfect salvation from the power 
and guilt of sin. " Tarry not in all the plain." 
Go forward ; 1 ' there remaineth yet very much 



FULL SALVATION. 



21 



land to be possessed." It is God's good pleas- 
ure that you should attain ' ' unto the fullness 
of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ." Let 
this ever be the cry of your hearty: 

" Forgive and make my nature whole, 
My inbred malady remove ; 
To perfect health restore my soul, 
To perfect holiness and love." 

" Wash me, and make me thus thine own; 
Wash me, and mine thou art; 
Wash me, but not my feet alone — 
My hands, my head, my heart." 



22 THE YOUNG CHUECH MEMBEE. 



CHAPTER III. 

MEANS OF GRACE. 

When the Romans wanted an able-bodied 
soldiery they obtained it by a close observance 
of dietary rules and vigorous athletic exercise. 
Mental development is secured by thorough 
drills in the schools. Not less is the growth of 
the soul dependent on the constant use of suit- 
able means. These are usually called means of 
grace; such are "The public worship of God, 
the supper of the Lord, family and private 
prayer, searching the Scriptures, fasting or 
abstinence." 

PEAYEE. 

This consists of deprecation, petition, inter- 
cession, and thanksgiving. The true essence 
and power of prayer are in the heart. It has 
no attitude, no language, no voice, no beads. 
Stripped of all its outward accompaniments it 
is the spirit clinging to the hem of His garment; 
the hungry soul begging for the crumbs under 
the Master's table ; the cry of faith to mercy — 



MEANS OF GRACE. 



23 



not eloquence, but earnestness ; not a definition, 
bat a realization ; not a figure of speech, but 
the crying out of " the soul after the living 
God." Beautifully is it expressed by Mont- 
gomery in verse : 

" Prayer is the soul's sincere desire, 
Uttered or unexpressed ; 
The motion of a hidden fire 
That trembles in the breast. 

Prayer is the burden of a sigh, 

The falling of a tear, 
The upward glancing of an eye 

When none but God is near." 

"Prayer is a divinely instituted means of 
grace, without which you can not possibly 
advance in spiritual life. It is the very atmos- 
phere in which you must live. The closet is 
the secret of power and victory. Prayer and 
pains can do all things. ' ' I fear John Knox's 
prayers more than an army of ten thousand 
men," said Mary, Queen of Scotland. It is 
said of Constantine the Great, that as he was 
one day looking at some statues of noted persons 
who were represented as standing remarked, " I 
shall have mine taken kneeling, for that is how 
I have risen to eminence." 

Here is where God has engaged to meet you, 



24 THE YOUNG CHUKCH MEMBER. 



to make your face to shine, to clothe you with 
armor, and thus prepare you to meet success- 
fully life's conflicts. 

It is advisable to observe stated seasons for 
prayer. To pray morning and evening, on ris- 
ing and retiring, is the custom of most pious 
persons — some add a noonday prayer. In the 
book of Discipline it is recommended to preach- 
ers to rise at an early hour, that they may have 
one hour in the morning and one in the even- 
ing, " to meditate, pray, and read the Scrip- 
tures." Is not this advice equally good for the 
entire membership of the Church? Doubtless 
were it more generally observed it would tend to 
greater spirituality of God's people. Among the 
Mohammedans no sooner dees the first ray of sun- 
light stream forth from the East than the Muez- 
zin's cry is heard: " To prayer, to prayer, O 
ye believers." Alas ! theirs may be but a form, 
but the example is worthy of imitation by Chris- 
tians. The stated season for prayer establishes 
a devotional habit, and prevents the forgetting 
of it altogether. In addition to the established 
hour of prayer, you will often be drawn aside 
into the closet, as in affliction, or any unusual 
trouble, temptation or trial. Thanks be to God! 
the throne of grace is accessible at all times, 



MEANS OF GRACE. 



25 



and the golden scepter is ever presented. Be 
often found at a throne of grace. 

FAMILY PRAYER. 

If you stand at the head of the family it 
will devolve on you to guide the devotions of 
'the family altar. We assume that you accept 
this as a duty without inquiring for a positive 
precept enjoining it. If you consider " the 
character of a Christian and the constitution 
of the family," embracing those that are nat- 
urally dependent on you for spiritual guidance 
not less than for food, and clothing, and for men- 
tal training ; and also the example of Abraham, 
Jacob, Job, and David, and many of the most 
pious of all ages, there will remain little doubt 
respecting your duty to establish and maintain 
the daily worship of God in the family. Nor, 
if properly conducted in the fear of the Lord, 
will you fail to witness its beneficial results in 
the home. It will secure system, familiarity 
with the Word of God — the book of final appeal 
in all questions — and a religious influence on 
the whole family ; and will add moral force to 
the affectionate authority you already possess in 
governing this miniature kingdom. 

Having position, opportunity, and capacity, 



26 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



God has committed to you this sacred trust — 
the care of tender souls. As a parent, a Chris- 
tian, a member of the Church, standing in the 
providence of God at the- head of the family, 
do not hesitate to assume this duty ; go forward 
and establish and maintain the worship of God 
under your own roof- tree, that it may be said 
of you as it was of Abraham, "I know him, 
that he will command his children, and his 
household after him, and they shall keep the 
way of the Lord." 

Do not make the worship irksome by too 
great length. Eight or ten minutes is long 
enough for the whole service. Have all mem- 
bers of the family present. Let all participate 
in the song — if there be singing — in the read- 
ing of the Scripture lesson, and in the Lord's 
prayer. In order to vary the service, assign 
some one to read the lesson alone — and again 
conduct the entire service yourself. Let ques- 
tions on the lesson be asked and properly an- 
swered. Let nothing be constrained, but let all 
be free and easy, and the family worship will 
prove both pleasurable and profitable. 

Furthermore, if you represent the head of 
the household, the duty of asking God's bless- 
ing at the table will devolve on you. By this 



MEANS OF GRACE. 



27 



" grace" you recognize the great giver of our 
daily bread, and though the acknowledgment 
consist of but a single sentence, if constantly 
made, it will exert a healthful Christian influ- 
ence on the home. Do not, therefore, decline 
the honor and duty of asking a blessing at the 
table. 

EJACULATORY PRAYER, 

Besides family and private prayer, there is 
what is usually called ejaculatory prayer — that 
which spontaneously springs up in the heart at 
any or all times, and finds expression in sudden 
informal, short sentences. 

This kind of prayer may be best explained 
by an illustration from Foster : 

" A number of ministers were assembled for 
the discussion of difficult questions ; and, among 
others, it was asked how the command to ' pray 
without ceasing ? could be complied with. Vari- 
ous suppositions were started ; and at length one 
of the number was appointed to w T rite an essay 
upon it, to be read at the next meeting, which, 
being overheard by a female servant, she ex- 
claimed : ' What ! a whole month waiting to 
tell the meaning of that text ? It is one of the 
easiest and best texts in the Bible.' ' Well, 
well!' said an old minister, 6 Mary, what can 



28 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



you say about it? Let us know how you un- 
derstand it. Can you pray all the time?' 'O, 
yes, sir.!' ' What ! when you have so many 
things to do ?' ' Why, sir, the more I have to 
do the more I can pray.' ' Indeed ! Well, Mary, 
do let us know how it is, for most people think 
otherwise.' ' Well, sir,' said the girl, ' when I 
first open my eyes in the morning, I pray, 
4 ' Lord, open the eyes of my understanding;" 
and while I am dressing, I pray that I may 
be clothed with the robe of righteousness ; and 
when I have washed me, I ask for the washing 
of regeneration ; and as I begin to work, I 
pray that I may have strength equal to my 
day; when I begin to kindle up the fire, I pray 
that God's work may revive in my soul; and 
as I sweep out the house, I pray that my heart 
may be cleansed from all its impurities ; and 
while preparing and partaking of breakfast, I 
desire to be fed with the hidden manna, and 
sincere milk of the word ; and as I am busy 
with the little children, I look up to God as my 
Father, and pray for the spirit of adoption, that I 
may be his child, and so all day. Every thing 
I do furnishes me with a thought for prayer.' 
' Enough, enough !' cried the old divine, ' these 
things are revealed to babes, and often hid from 



MEANS OF GRACE. 



29 



the wise and prudent. Go on, Mary/ said 
he, ' pray without ceasing ; and as for us, my 
brethren, let us bless God for this exposition, 
and remember that he has said, The meek will 
he guide in judgment.'" 

" When 'tis e'er denied thee, 

In solitude to pray ; 
Should holy thoughts come o'er thee, 

When friends are round thy way; 
E'en then the silent breathing, 

Thy spirit raised above, 
Will reach the throne of glory 

Where dwells eternal love." 

PUBLIC WORSHIP. 

Public worship is designed for the general 
good. It provides for the preaching of the 
word; the administration of the sacraments; 
for the edification and communion of the breth- 
ren. Early in the history of the world, public 
worship was ordained of God, and never has 
there been a period in which it was not to some 
extent observed. There have always been those 
who could say, ' ' I was glad when they said 
unto me, Let us go into the house of the 
Lord." Here the ignorant are instructed, care- 
less sinners awakened, believers are built up, 
and God is honored. It is the place where God 



30 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



hath said "I will put my name there" — the 
place of divine presence and communication — 
the place where the pentecostal Spirit descends 
like refining fire on his assembled people. 

You can not, therefore, absent yourself from 
the house of the Lord without suffering loss. 
You may not realize a special blessing at every 
meeting, still your constant attendance upon the 
public worship, will not fail of healthful results. 
The effect of a single service may be impercep- 
tible, but not therefore unreal. The farmer 
might say, " What avails this slight dew that 
nightly falls on my fields ? We have need of a 
shower." But these frequent dews, though gen- 
tle, may finally mature the harvest. You can 
not afford to lose even the ordinary blessings of 
public worship. They who inquire in his tem- 
ple, and wait on the Lord, shall renew their 
strength. What is the result to those who 
attend not the public ministrations of the 
Church, who " neglect the assembling of 
themselves together, as the manner of some 
is?" Witness among these the many weak 
and sickly Christians ; inefficient and unhappy, 
they drag through empty professions. Be 
warned by these ; and now that you have 
become a member of the Church, and entered 



MEANS OF GRACE. 



31 



on a new career, form the habit at once 
of attending regularly upon all the public serv- 
ices of God's house. You will meet examples 
enough of those who have no principle, or con- 
science, or rules to govern them in this impor- 
tant duty ; who are prevented by the slightest 
imaginable hindrances ; who attend w T eek-day 
or Sabbath, morning or evening, during a re- 
vival or on occasions of special interest, or not 
at all, just as if there were no duty in the 
case, and as if church-going were altogether a 
secondary obligation. Be not of this class. 
Make it a matter of conscience to attend regu- 
larly the public worship of the Church, whether 
on w 7 eek-day or on the Sabbath. Let no tri- 
fling reason, which you would not plead for 
neglecting your business, occasion your absence. 
Form a right habit in this matter and the 
usual hindrances will all quickly vanish. 

Whether the assembly is called for the 
preaching of the word, the administration of 
the holy sacraments, for purposes of prayer 
and praise, or for the relation of religious expe- 
rience — as in the "class-room" — consider the 
meeting as called for yourself, and endeavor to 
be present and contribute your part to the 
general interest. ^ 



32 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



CHAPTER IY. 

CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY. 

The first desire of the converted man is, 
that the world may be brought to Christ, — 

"O, that all his salvation might see ;" 

and there comes with this benevolent feeling 
an impression that somewhat of this saving the 
world depends upon him. Nor does this impres- 
sion belie the truth. God means that every 
converted soul shall be instrumental in the con- 
version of others — the saved must save the 
unsaved — and it is only in obedience to this 
divine impression that the soul can maintain 
the vigor of its first love, and multiply its 
Christian influence in the world. Christ said 
to the idle, " Go work to-day in my vineyard." 
To every Christian he has appointed work and 
made spiritual growth largely dependent on its 
performance. Inactivity is dearth to the soul. 
Who in yonder vineyard possesses the brawny 
arm and athletic frame? He who sits the Sum- 



CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY. 



33 



mer long with folded hands beneath some shady 
bower? Rather he who toils on through the 
season, in the cool and heated hours of the 
day pruning, gathering, and treading in the 
wine fat. 

See the idle multitudes of Church members, 
who, though they have gone into the vineyard, 
labor not ; see them slothfully reclining under the 
shady arbors, delicate, pale, nerveless, the nat- 
ural result of spiritual inactivity. Let such hear 
the rebuking interrogation of Christ, " Why 
stand ye here all the day idle ?" Having come 
into the Church of Christ, it is expected that 
in order to your own spiritual development, the 
general edification of the Body of Christ, and 
the propagation of the Gospel in the world, 
you will actively and constantly employ all 
your powers in religious work. Nothing less 
would fulfill the solemn obligations taken upon 
you on becoming a full member of the Church. 
" Will you endeavor as much as in you lies, to 
promote the welfare of the brethren, and the 
advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom?" "I 
will," is your solemn and emphatic answer. 
You have, therefore, come into the Church not 
alone to be ministered unto, but also to minister. 

What less could you propose? Would you 



34 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



desire to be a recipient of the Church's priv- 
ileges and benefactions, and not to reciprocate ? 
To be a consumer, but not a producer of spir- 
itual revenues ? — a parasite upon the spiritual 
body? No, as a member of the Church of the 
Lord Jesus, you are bound by the sacredness of 
your vow, and by the very nature of the insti- 
tution whose privileges you have come to enjoy, 
to exercise yourself according to your ability, 
in promoting its efficiency — " in advancing the 
welfare of your brethren and the upbuilding of 
the Redeemer's kingdom." 

It is assumed that you know r "your breth- 
ren." Every member of the Church should 
endeavor to know every other member, and 
should seek in some way, whatever his station, 
capacity, or condition, to contribute somewhat 
to the benefit of the brotherhood. There ought 
not to be a reason for saying of some, " The 
Church may be useful to them, but they can 
not be useful to the Church." If any one can 
not be useful to the Church, he has no rightful 
place therein, for there is neither place nor 
apology for such in the Lord's vineyard. 

In the family, not the strong brothers and 
sisters only may be useful, but every member — 
the tender children that perform light errands, 



CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY. 



35 



the babe in the cradle that daily stimulates our 
better natures by its very innocence, and the 
patient invalid that sits all day in the weary 
chair, performing delicate needlework and ever 
saying " thanks" for the thousand kindnesses 
received — these are useful, so tenderly useful, 
that none could be more missed than they. 
Likewise in the Church family every member, 
whether rich or poor, learned or unlearned, child 
or adult, should be so positively useful, that his 
removal by death or otherwise, would sensibly 
affect the whole Church. 

There is in the nature of the case a vast 
difference in the capacity and adaptation of a 
large membership promiscuously gathered into 
one communion, yet there is room in the spir- 
itual household for the free and full exer- 
cise of every grade and character of talent. 
Some are useful by virtue of their modest and 
beautiful lives : Exemplary, sweet-spirited, well 
tempered, kindly spoken, conscientious, sympa- 
thetic, loving — they are always an honor to the 
Church. These help forward the good cause ; 
they weave the beautiful hangings for the tab- 
ernacle ; they are salt in the earth, lights in 
the sanctuary, a fragrance in the garden of the 
Lord. 



36 THE YOUNG CHUECH MEMBER. 



If there is a brother of good ' ' solid piety * 
who knows and loves our doctrines and disci- 
pline, and possesses " good natural and acquired 
abilities to transact the temporal business/' his 
services may be wanted in the stewardship ; if 
one is possessed of a fair degree of knowledge — 
especially of Bible knowledge — and is ' ' apt to 
teach" his qualifications may be in demand in 
the class-room or in the Sabbath-school ; but if 
you have a full heart that will not wait formal 
appointment to some specified duty, then there 
is for you the largest possible field of labor — 
to look out the distressed of the community and 
relieve their temporal suffering ; to inquire for 
the stranger and bring him to the house of 
God; to search out the serious, the penitent, 
the inquirer, and report him to the pastor or 
show him the way to the cross : or possibly you 
may find the intemperate and fallen to be your 
peculiar trust ; and O, how noble is the work, 
how like the Master's, to lift up these lowly and 
helpless ones ! 

Every true Christian is gracefully adapted 
to just such work as God shall call him to per- 
form, and his surroundings and capacity will 
indicate what it is. Christians should not wait 
appointment to some special office, and do 



CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY. 37 



nothing, and feel no duty unless so appointed. 
Eejoice if you are allowed the privilege, under 
God, of selecting your own work. Stand before 
Him like Nehemiah the cup-bearer stood before 
the king, with a soul burdened with the desire 
to relieve the sin-oppressed of your race, and 
the heavenly king will approve your desire and 
certainly commission you to a worthy and noble 
work. He that kindles a flame in your soul — 
a burning in your bones to do good, will not 
shut the door of opportunity before your face. 
He may not open the door at which you knock, 
but another on the opposite side that opens into 
riper fields. Do not feel disappointed because 
you did not do the thing you intended if you 
have done well something else. John Wesley, 
on visiting the prison, prayed for a criminal, 
who was that day to be executed ; but he 
said, "My prayers rebounded as a ball thrown 
against a wall," but it was to be observed that 
the prisoner's brother wept. An old lady re- 
proved a sailor for swearing ; not the sailor was 
benefited but another man, who had drawn near 
and overheard the rebuke. You may have 
intended to be present at Church, but was use- 
fully detained by the wayside, like the good 
Samaritan^ in a mission of mercy. If your soul 



38 



THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



is ever saying, " Lord, what wilt thou have me 
to do ?" your presence and service are equally 
good anywhere. 

Neither be concerned whether your work is 
great or small, whether you plow or plant, or 
read a book, or write an epic or a lyric, or 
visit the sick, or teach a juvenile class, or 
utter a " God bless you" on the sorrowful, all 
is worthy and approved. Nothing of your good 
deeds is hid from God ; he chronicles all in his 
book of remembrance, and whatsoever is right 
in the way of reward he will give you. Ail 
good actions are great in the sight of God, and 
faithfulness in the use of one talent will be as 
certainly rewarded as faithfulness in five. 

When moving the ancient tabernacle, some 
by appointment carried the more conspicuous 
parts, as the bars and curtains and table and 
altar ; but others were detailed to carry the lit- 
tle "pins" that fastened all together. Think 
you the carrying the pins was an un remembered 
service ? No ; they who did this well were not 
less worthy than the chosen priests who bore 
the sacred ark. 

Do not concern yourself so much about the 
magnitude of your labor, as to know that you 
have done something, and done it in the spirit 



CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY. 



39 



of a true disciple, though it be but the giving 
of a cup of cold water. Large gifts are not 
necessary to prove you benevolent. This grace 
exists in the heart not in the hand. David 
would have built the Lord's temple, and God 
commended the desire: ' ' Whereas it was in 
thine heart to build an house unto my name, 
thou didst well that it was in thine heart." 
Thus where the power to perform is wanting 
even the desire is acceptable to God. 

Only know what talent you possess, and 
wisely employ it, that the Master when he 
cometh may receive his "own with usury." 

"Say not I am humble and lowly, 
And little can do if I would ; 
Remember that Jesus, the holy, 

Said of one, ' She hath done what'she could.' " 

You should make Christian activity a daily 
work. The king of Gath said to David, who 
was living under his patronage and of whom he 
justly expected a suitable requital, "Whither 
have ye made a road to-day?" You are living 
under the merciful protection of the most High 
God, and are enjoying the privileges of his 
kingdom ; may he not, therefore, justly demand 
of you every evening, " Whither have ye made 
a road to-day?" And should not you be able 



40 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



to answer unequivocally, that you have made a 
road into the enemy's kingdom ? He asks not, 
What battles did you fight yesterday, or what 
wars do you intend to wage to-morrow? — the 
whole question is about to-day. It is not im- 
proper to contemplate the past and prospect the 
future ; but it is a mistake to depend on some 
past experience or spiritual exploit, or on some 
future religious purpose in your daily reckoning. 
But to-day, 

u What have I learned that 's worth the knowing? 
What have I done that's worth the doing? 
What have I sought that I should shun ? 
What duty have I left undone ?" 

These are questions of to-day. Let them be 
answered every evening. Let every sun record 
some good deed done, some kind word spoken, 
some valuable truth learned/some sensible man- 
ifestation of God's approval, some battle for the 
king, some heart sin conquered. 

Prince William, of Germany, wrote in his 
diary when yet in his fifteenth year this good 
resolve: "I shall commence each day with a 
remembrance of God and my duties, and each 
evening I shall examine carefully the use I have 
made of the completed day." May not much 
of the success of this prince have been due to 



CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY. 



41 



this holy resolve and this habit of daily review- 
ing his life actions? And might it not be 
equally useful to you ? As an inspiration to 
greater Christian activity, form the habit of a 
daily examination of your thoughts, feelings, 
words, and acts. The casting up your account 
each evening will mirror to your soul the results 
of the day, whether you have done well or ill. 

u If through all the livelong day 
You 've cheered no heart with yea or nay, — 

If through it all 
You 've nothing done that you can trace 
That brought the sunshine to one face ; 

No act so small, 
That helped some soul and nothing cost, 
Then count that day as worse than lost. 

But if you sit down at set of sun, 

And count the acts that you have done ; 

And counting, find, 
One self-denying act, one word, 
That eased the heart of him who heard, 

One glance most kind, 
That fell like sunshine where it went, 
You may count that day well spent." 



42 



THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



CHAPTER V. 

CHRISTIAN REP UTATION. 

Reputation is the estimation in which one 
is held, the character attributed to his name. 
A good reputation is an indispensable passport 
to all desirable positions, and an absolute neces- 
sity to the godly influence of the Christian. 

" A good name is to be chosen rather than great 
riches." 

4 4 Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, 
nothing ; 

'Twas mine, 'tis his, and lias been slave to thou- 
sands ; 

But he that filches from me my good name, 
Robs me of that which not enriches him, 
And makes me poor indeed." 

In a good reputation lies your force of Chris- 
tian character; you should, therefore, hold it in 
great sacredness, and cherish it for His sake, 
whose % name you bear. Your deportment should 
be such that you could say like Christ, " which 
of you convinceth me of sin?" or like Paul to 
be able to ' ' challenge the world of adversaries, 



CHRISTIAN REPUTATION. 



43 



to show wherein you should not lay claim to the 
esteem and confidence of all true men." 

Your life should be so manifestly correct as 
not to lie open to easy and numerous misunder- 
standings. An imprudent, careless deportment 
has not unfrequently vitiated and neutralized 
the good inner life of many a Christian. A 
business firm may be perfectly reliable — fair 
and honest in all its transactions — but if from 
any cause it loses its reputation for these qual- 
ities its future influence on the business world 
will be sensibly diminished. If you are con- 
sciously good you should desire to be thought 
so. He who affects to be indifferent about his 
personal standing in society, and says in a spirit 
of unconcern, "I do not care what people think 
of me so I do right," exhibits a false humility 
and forgets the excellent advice of St. Paul to 
" abstain from all appearance of evil." Mark, 
not from evil only, but from the appearance of 
it. Our outer life must not only be correct, but 
£0 manifestly correct as not to be almost nec- 
essarily subject to misinterpretations — so open 
and plainly right that by it we may commend 
ourselves to every mans conscience in the sight 
of God, " for our Christian influence depends 
not only on our actual virtues, but upon the 



44 THE YOUXG CHURCH MEMBER. 



estimation the world puts upon our virtuous 
character." He who in the doing of a good 
deed is so careless as to be misunderstood, and 
too imperious to explain the motive of his act, 
and so to prevent occasion for offense and give 
religious character to his deed, unquestionably 
betrays a want of Christian spirit. The exte- 
rior life is that by which men judge of us. 
You may rejoice in the " testimony of your 
conscience," but the world will judge you, not 
by what is thought and felt, but by what is 
said and done. The tree is not known by its 
sap but by its fruit. Words, manners, and 
deeds constitute the whole exterior of human 
life ; without these nothing could be known of 
human character — they are the public expres- 
sion of the inner man. As a Church member, 
therefore, let your soul be thoroughly pious, 
and let not your words and deeds carelessly 
misrepresent you. 

Remember that you live not unto yourself: 
as a member of the Church you are intimately 
associated with many others, and should have 
scrupulous regard for the general reputation of 
the whole •body. Every member of a business 
firm is personally responsible to the extent of 
his influence for the good character of the firm. 



CHRISTIAN REPUTATION. 



45 



Churches have characters as well as business 
corporations ; but as their characters are only 
the aggregate of the individual reputations of 
their respective membership, it becomes every 
Christian, out of consideration for the good name 
of Christ's holy Church, to walk "blameless 
toward them that are without," to maintain an 
unblemished reputation before the world. Are 
there not multitudes of unscrupulous, or at 
least inconsiderate, Church members, who from 
'11 habits of speech, idle or semi-profane words 
or harsh, coarse manners, or dubious actions, 
have greatly obscured and neutralized their 
religious influence and damaged the reputation 
of the Church to which they belong? Doubt- 
less such have come under your own observa- 
tion. By these be warned. Let not these faults 
be attributed to you, nor the saying, " He has 
outlived his usefulness." 

Time and circumstance should not affect your 
Christian deportment. Do not localize your 
religion. There are those who seem to think 
they are bound to no Christian rules outside 
the immediate vicinity of home ; but are like 
heathen travelers who, in addition to their 
tutelary deity, worship the god of whatever 
province they enter. In short they follow the 



46 



THE YOUXG CHUECH MEMBER. 



maxim, "When in Rome do as Rome does." 
When you go on a journey, do not join your- 
self with the wicked nor indulge in pleasures 
which are derogatory to your Christian profes- 
sion and Church vows, but go like the patriarch 
Jacob with prayer and pledge ; take your relig- 
ion and a copy of the Lord's guide-book with you. 
These will prove useful to you in your journey. 
Keep the love of God in your heart, maintain 
a good conscience, and let your outward dej)ort- 
ment agree with your Christian profession. 
Keep the Sabbath, and if possible worship God 
in his holy temple on that day. Be not a re- 
ligionist of circumstance, but true and faithful 
everywhere and always — 

"At home or abroad, on the land or the sea." 

Joseph was equally faithful, whether serving 
in the prison or riding in the second chariot and 
exercising kingly prerogatives. Even under the 
most enticing allurements and humiliating im- 
prisonments, by an unswerving and rigid integ- 
rity he won for himself a reputation that soon 
quenched the fiery darts of calumny. Equally 
steadfast was Daniel, whether he worshiped God 
among the pious scenes of his native Palestine 
or as a captive in the far off and luxuriant 



CHRISTIAN REPUTATION . 



47 



Babylon. Let a Christian be firmly principled, 
and he may travel through all the zones with- 
out affecting his religious reputation. His knee 
will bow on the plains of Shinar as on the slopes 
of Olivet. ' ' Let him lie down in the desert," 
says Punshon, ' 'and just as the palm tree 
thrusts its roots beneath the envious sand in 
search of sustenance, he will manage somehow 
to find living water there. Banish him to the 
dreariest Patmos you can find, he will see a 
grand Apocalypse among its barren crags. 
Thrust him into an inner prison and fasten his 
feet in the stocks, the doxology will reverber- 
ate through the dungeon, making such melody 
within its walls of stone, that the jailer shall 
awaken into a man, and the prisoners hearing 
it shall dream of freedom and of home." 

While you endeavor to live in all good con- 
science before God, let your name also be as 
incense poured forth. 

4 



48 the you:n t g chitrch membek. 



CHAPTER VI. 

RELIGION AND B US1NESS. 

Make an application of your religion in 
business life. " Whatsoever ye do in word or 
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." 
To dissociate the ordinary business affairs of life 
from personal religion is no uncommon error. 
As if it were a thing too holy to be brought 
into contact with the world, to be exposed in 
business transactions, and on political and state 
occasions, men seek to shut it up in the Church 
and closet, and limit it to the Sundays. This 
is a mistaken notion of the character of our 
holy religion. God designed it to apply to the 
varied wants of life— to affect and modify both 
the inner and outer life in every possible condi- 
tion. Otherwise it were of little utility. Steam 
is generated in the boiler, but its application is 
upon the machinery ; if it can not be applied 
the steam becomes of no value. So of your 
personal religion, if it will not apply, if it does 
not make your household affairs run more 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS. 49 



smoothly, if it does not affect your words and 
acts, if it does not control your business, it is 
of no consequence. 

The same God that converted you and to 
whom you committed the keeping of your soul, 
is willing to guide and sustain you in your tem- 
poral affairs, not less than in your spiritual. 
' 'In all thy ways acknowledge Him and he 
shall direct thy paths." While in the manage- 
ment of your temporal concerns you exercise 
your own best judgment, you should, also, like 
an affectionate son, sensible of his weakness, 
take counsel of your heavenly Father, who giv- 
eth wisdom to^them that ask him. 

Perhaps you are young and have not yet 
entered upon business for yourself. How im- 
portant is it that you choose an employment, 
which is, at least, not adverse to a pious life. 
It would require little reflection to see the im- 
propriety of adopting any business that could 
not be conducted on religious principles. There 
is a manifest absurdity in doing a wicked thing, 
or thing of evil tendency, in the name of the 
Lord Jesus. What could be more incongruous 
than laying the corner-stone of a brewery, 
or distillery, or opening a drinking saloon with 
religious ceremonies ; or engaging in any public 



50 



THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



or private swindle in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, or in asking God's blessing on the dishon- 
est management of any lawful business. The 
evident anti-Christian character of some em- 
ployments is a sufficient guarantee that Chris- 
tian men will not engage in them. There are 
others which, though lawful, are so peculiarly 
liable to lead to Sabbath labor and other evils, 
as to make them exceedingly unsafe and unde- 
sirable for the Christian. As a prudent person, 
therefore, do not expose your soul to moral 
hazards by adopting, even temporarily, such 
'occupations. The question of your calling is a 
very important one ; a question which every one 
should settle at the threshold, and settle wisely. 
How unfortunate for a man to be misguided in 
his vocation ; a ctatesman in the shop, and a 
hod-carrier in the parliament; the skilled ma- 
chinist in the quarry, a preacher at the bar, a 
lawyer practicing medicine, an artist in the 
pulpit ! What an unsuccessful voyage Jonah 
made when bent on his own way; but in his 
proper mission, what a successful preacher ! O, 
how many in the business of this life are 
evidently struggling in unadapted callings ; and 
though they toil all night they catch nothing, 
because they ever let down the net on the 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS. 51 



wrong side of the ship. ' ' Lean not unto thine 
own understanding" is advice they have never 
heeded. 

In most instances it may not be difficult to 
determine what should be our pursuit in life ; cir- 
cumstances may sufficiently indicate it, but not 
always ; God may call you out from your sur- 
roundings, and appoint you to some widely dif- 
ferent mission : only seek to know his will and 
obey it. In choosing your life-work desire 
that which least exposes you to temptation, in 
which you can live most happily and best glo- 
rify God. 

The same principle should also govern you 
in selecting the place of your residence — where 
you should spend your life and bestow your 
labor. He who appointed the place of your 
birth will also appoint the bounds of your hab- 
itation. We can not suppose that he created 
so many millions of human beings and cast 
them into the earth without regard to the place 
where the drama of their lives should be en- 
acted. Was it by mere accident that Adam's 
home was fixed on the Euphrates rather than 
on the Mississippi, or the slopes of the Pacific? 
Abraham's several homes in Mesopotamia, Ca- 
naan, and Egypt, were not accidental, but 



52 THE YOUXG CHURCH MEMBER. 



divinely appointed. God called him from his 
father-land into a country which, said he, "I 
will show thee," and he directed in what part 
of Canaan he should pitch his tent. The tribes 
and families of the Israelites were assigned their 
places in Palestine. And were not Joseph and 
Mary directed of God where to sojourn? and 
did he not say to Elijah, "Arise, and get thee 
to Zarephath, and dwell there ?" Is not God con- 
cerned where you live? and if circumstances 
indicate that you should not dwell here, ought 
you not to ask, "Where, Lord, wouldst thou 
have me live and labor?" William Carvosso 
would not leave the seaside till he had coun- 
seled God, and his home was happily and use- 
fully fixed in a country place. Lot asked not 
the Lord, but unwisely took counsel of his own 
heart, and having his covetous eye on the 
grazing lands of the plains he unfortunately 
" pitched his tent toward Sodom." What more 
becomes a Christian family when a change of 
home seems indicated than to be found on their 
knees asking God to direct them in selecting a 
new dwelling place where they may live pros- 
perously, usefully, and happily? Could you 
have been in England or Holland more than 
two hundred years ago, you might have wit- 



RELIGION AND BUSINESS. 53 



nessed many such scenes in those families which 
were directed to settle on the Atlantic's western 
shores ; and there are many families in Germany 
and Ireland now daily inquiring of the Lord 
relative to a home in this land ; but many more 
from those countries are emigrating to this with- 
out God's counsel, and their lives are as miser- 
able as their influence is pernicious. Where, 
Lord, should I pitch my tent, and in what part 
of thy vineyard should I perform my labor? 
should be the prayer of every Christian. And 
having once located your home and entered 
into business, let all be consecrated to God. 

When the Spanish mariners were travers- 
ing the seas upon voyages of discovery, it is 
said, they never touched upon land without at 
once setting the standard of Ferdinand and 
Isabella, and taking possession in their name. 
So on making new accessions to your, estate or 
venturing on any new enterprise at once conse- 
crate it to God, and take possession in the name 
of the Lord Jesus. Mohammed began every 
chapter in the Koran, "In the name of the 
most merciful God;" and it is said that the 
Arabians still prefix this title to every book and 
document they write. Shall Christians enter a 
business with less piety or less consecration ? 



54 THE YOUXG CHUKCH MEMBER. 



Since you are the Lord's servant, ' 1 bought 
with a price," whatsoever of wealth, or learn- 
ing, or honor you possess, or business you con- 
trol, let all be held and managed in the name 
of the Lord ; take up nothing, dispose of noth- 
ing, but in his name and by his counsel, and 
acknowledge his constant superintendence over 
both you and yours. 

" Our souls and bodies we resign ; 
With joy we render thee 
Our all, — no longer ours, but thine 
To all eternity." 



YOUR FINANCIAL DUTY. 55 



CHAPTER VII. 

YOUR FINANCIAL DUTY. 

Financial support is indispensable to the 
perpetuity and efficiency of all organizations. 
The Church is no exception to this rule. As 
the Church was instituted of God, so also were 
the means of its temporal economy. Under the 
law Moses ordained that " all the tithe of the 
land, whether of the seed of the land or of the 
fruit of the tree, or of the tithe of the herd, or 
of the flock, the Until shall be holy unto the 
Lord." (Levit. xxvii, 30-32.) This w r as set apart 
for the support of the Jewish priesthood. The 
failure on the part of the people to comply with 
this requirement of the Mosaic law — to conse- 
crate the tenth — was followed by the unhappy 
suspension of the temple worship, and heavy 
visitations of the divine displeasure. The with- 
holding of the tithes God charged as " robbery." 
It drove the priests into other employments for 
a support. Nehemiah says, " I perceived that 
the portions of the Levites had not been given 



56 THE YOUNG CHUBCH MEMBER. 

them, for the Levites and the singers that did 
the work, were fled every one to his field." 

Under the New Testament dispensation the 
same financial necessity exists. There must 
still be a treasury from which to aid the poor 
brethren, and to sustain those who went forth 
to preach the word of life. (St. John xiii, 29.) 
In the ninth and sixteenth chapters of First Co- 
rinthians, and in the eighth and ninth chapters 
of Second Corinthians, the whole scope of Chris- 
tian benevolence is particularly treated by St. 
Paul. As to the general duty of liberality, 
" see," said he, " that ye abound in this grace 
also;" as to ministerial support especially, " even 
so hath the Lord ordained that they which 
preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel;" 
touching the manner of raising our benevo- 
lences, 4< upon the first day of the week let 
every one of you lay by him in store as God 
hath prospered him ;" in reference to the spirit 
of our benefactions — 4 'not grudgingly or of 
necessity," but " bountifully and cheerfully." 

Since the Church can not perpetuate itself 
and carry forward its evangelizing work with- 
out temporal support ; and since the duty of 
benevolence in general, and ministerial support 
in particular, are clearly enjoined in the Word 



YOUK FINANCIAL DUTY. 



57 



of God, the Discipline of the Church, in order 
to secure a practical recognition of these facts, 
proposes to every candidate for admission into 
full membership a series of questions, among 
which is the following one: "Will you con- 
tribute of your earthly substance according to 
your ability to the support of the «Gospel and 
various benevolent enterprises of the Church?" 
To this question the candidate is expected to 
give an affirmative answer. 

By "the various benevolent enterprises" is 
doubtless meant the Missionary, Church Exten- 
sion, Educational, Tract, Sunday-school Union 
Societies, the Bible cause, and whatever else 
the wisdom of the Church may authorize for 
the extension of Christ's kingdom, and the sal- 
vation of man. It is the policy of the Church 
to furnish such frequent and full information re- 
specting the object and working of these benev- 
olent societies as to secure the heartiest sym- 
pathy and largest financial support of all her 
membership. But the clause of the above 
interrogation here particularly emphasized is 
that which obligates you with your earthly sub- 
stance and according to your ability to support 
the ministry. 

The necessity for such a support is quite 



58 THE YOUXG CHURCH MEMBER. 



evident. Whoever enters the ministry pledge 
himself to ' ' lay aside the study of the world 
and the flesh, and to give himself diligently to 
prayers, the reading of the holy Scriptures and 
such other studies as help to the knowledge of 
the same: in short, to be a man of one work;" 
he is, therefore, while so employed, wholly 
dependent for a living on those whom he 
serves ; and when, according to the economy of 
the Church, a minister is sent to a charge, and 
he does there render service as a minister and 
pastor, the people of that charge are morally 
bound to give him a reasonable support. When, 
therefore, a pastor is appointed, and the esti- 
mating committee has fixed his allowance, and 
the quarterly conference has indorsed the esti- 
mate, it becomes the duty of the membership 
individually to secure the payment of that 
amount. This duty rests not with the few, as 
the stewards, the leaders, the influential, but 
with all : the circumstance of age, sex, relative 
wealth or social position exempts no one — all 
are under obligations. In respect to this duty 
many Christians fail. Not properly considering 
the necessities of the Church, and forgetting 
their solemn vows, they seek to relieve them- 
selves by throwing their financial obligations 



YOUB FINANCIAL DUTY. 59 



upon their brethren. But to assume your finan- 
cial duty in addition to his own, becomes bur- 
densome to the conscientious brother, whose 
high sense of honor compels him to bear both, 
rather than that the stipulated allowance should 
not be paid. But this ungenerous overburden- 
ing the brother is not the worst result of neg- 
lected duty; upon yourself fall the greater ills — 
ills not less blighting than autumnal frosts upon 
the tender flower. You are sufficiently thought- 
ful to have observed that when one neglects or 
refuses to perform what he perceives to be his 
duty, he feels under some kind of obligation to 
render a reason for his conduct ; and whatever 
that reason may be, respecting the subject under 
consideration, it can scarcely be the true one, 
however candid he means to be. His explana- 
tions will almost necessarily involve some inno- 
cent party; the minister most probably: ' ' he 
is not the man of my choice ; he is not suffi- 
ciently intellectual; he has not devoted the 
attention to me and my family that he ought." 
Or, if there is no plausible ground for com- 
plaint here, he will possibly' find fault with the 
stewards : They have not made a just assess- 
ment of the money to be raised ; they do not 
manage the finances of the Church econom- 



60 THE YOUNG CHUECH MEMBEB. 



ically ; they are always dunning a man for his 
dues." Having unjustly complained of the 
stewards or the pastor, in justification of his 
financial delinquency, he will shrink from meet- 
ing the former and hearing the latter. He will 
continue for awhile to attend upon the ministry 
with apparent ease, but after a little he will 
attend less and less frequently, and finally 
drop out of the congregation altogether, till 
there is a change in the pastorate ; when, if 
he has been sufficiently self-reproached for his 
past delinquency, he will endeavor to begin on 
friendly terms with the new preacher and per- 
form his duty with zeal ; but if not — if he has 
not yet overcome his avarice, he will soon ac- 
quire the habit of a wealthy brother — known to 
the writer — whose dominating parsimony ahvays 
impelled him to find some real or imaginary 
fault with the new minister as soon as possible 
after his entrance upon the charge, and then 
make this pretended displeasure an excuse for 
withholding his contribution to the pastor's sup- 
port. O what multitudes by yielding to the 
blighting spirit of parsimony in the use of God's 
moneys jeopard their souls and bring upon 
themselves all the distresses of spiritual poverty. 
Think of the unhappy consequences to the 



YOXJE FINANCIAL DUTY. 61 



Church and yourself of withholding the needed 
and pledged temporal support of the Gospel. 
You thereby drive the Lord's watchman off the 
walls of Zion and endanger the safety and per- 
petuity of the Church; you shut up " the 
windows of heaven" against your own soul; 
smother to extinction the fires upon your own 
altar ; expose yourself to innumerable spiritual 
hazards, and by withholding more than is 
meet suffer the disappointment that "it tendeth 
to poverty." 

Do not, therefore, environ yourself with such 
mischievous temptations, but accept and per-, 
form this Christian duty in the spirit of the 
Gospel, cheerfully and bountifully. Let no real 
or apparent negligence on the part of the pas- 
tor, or any supposed ill management of Church 
finances, or the improper conduct of any mem- 
ber of the Church, be regarded as sufficient 
cause for your neglect of duty. Consider the 
difficulties of those who have the management 
of Church temporalities, and that absolute per- 
fection therein is not to be expected. Consider 
also the duties of the pastor, that they are 
various and often intricate ; and that, having 
never occupied his position, you may not be 
able to know all the difficulties that beset his 



62 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

calling ; and even if it should appear plain that 
he has, in a measure, neglected you and been 
derelict in other particulars, consider whether 
he has not been specially useful to most per- 
sons, and generally quite efficient, both as a 
pastor and minister. Do not demand of him a 
perfection in the prosecution of his work, which 
you would regard as unreasonable if exacted of 
you in the fulfillment of your duties. And if 
under our itinerancy, involving frequent changes 
in the pastorate, the present incumbent should 
not seem to recognize you in the same affec- 
tionate and confidential relation as did his pred- 
ecessor, consider whether his pastoral attentions 
are not being chiefly bestowed upon another 
class, who may hitherto have been somewhat 
overlooked. While he is your pastor engaged 
in his work, whether he bestows most of his 
labor in this or that part of the vineyard, rec- 
ognize it as being performed for the general 
good, hold him in " high esteem for his work's 
sake," and do your share toward his temporal 
support. 

How much ought I to give ? This is a ques- 
tion you may often have occasion to ask your- 
self, and it will remain with yourself to answer 
it. Both the Scriptures and your Church vows 



YOUR FINANCIAL DUTY. 63 

require a benevolence proportionate to your 
ability— < < as the Lord hath prospered you." 
This is the Bible rule and the one that should 
govern your contributions in all cases. Benev- 
olence conditioned on ability removes the objec- 
tion to giving on the ground of possessing little, 
an excuse often made. The having little does 
not affect the obligation to give, it only lessens 
the amount to be given. And when given 
according to the Scripture rule, the smallness 
of the offering, is no cause for humiliation ; it 
does not indicate a want of the benevolent 
principle ; the mite of penury that drops softly 
into the Lord's till indicates the soul's benev- 
olence not less than the dropping of the heavier 
sums that echo through the temple. The small- 
est flag in the window of the backwoodsman's 
cabin, proclaims his loyalty as truly as the 
gorgeous silken one that floats gracefully from 
the rich man's balcony. Do not, therefore, neg- 
lect your financial duty, because you can not 
give much, nor suffer the temptation, that you 
have done nothing, because you have not done 
as much as others, or in accordance with the 
greatness of your desires. " One coin out of a 
little," says St. Ambrose, " is better than a 

treasure out of much ; for it is not considered 

5 



64 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



how much is given, but how much remains 
behind." Only give as } r ou are able, make no 
comparison between your offering and that of 
your wealthy brother, but rather between your 
offering and your ability ; and remember that 
in this comparison the widow's mite was more 
than the abundant offerings of the rich. 

Do not postpone your financial obligations to 
the Church. To do so may greatly incon- 
venience the pastor, and retard other great 
benevolent enterprises which you had sincerely 
intended to advance. "Thou shalt not delay 
to offer the first of thy ripe fruits," was an 
injunction of Moses to bis people. " The Hin- 
doos," it is said, " when gathering in their har- 
vest, before it is removed from the threshing- 
floor take out the portion for their god. How- 
ever poor, however much in debt, or however 
small the crop may be, the god's portion is first 
given." Do they not act wisely? This secures 
the certainty of the offering. Postponement till 
the end of the year might defeat the offering 
altogether. The divine requirement to ' i pay 
now thy vows" has perhaps a twofold object in 
view ; first, the immediate and necessary sup- 
plies for the sanctuary; secondly, the removal 
of the temptation not to pay at all. It is not 



YOUE FINANCIAL DUTY. 



65 



well to retain in hand that which belongs to the 
Lord. Arrearage may subject you to the dan- 
gerous temptation, at least, to " keep back part 
of the price." The experience of one who suf- 
fered such temptation may be useful here. 

Miss Sarah T was a faithful attendant 

upon the class-meeting in those days when it was 
customary for the members to pay their weekly 
dues to the leader in the class-room. This she 
had always promptly done. But now, on ac- 
count of sickness, she had been absent for a 
number of Sabbaths, and had consequently 
fallen in arrears with her payments. When 
she was again able to attend, her father, though 
not a Church member, said, " Sallie, how T much 
do you owe to the meeting ?" She replied, after 
reckoning a little, " seventy-five cents." He 
gave her the money in several pieces of new 
shining coins. She carried it with a glad heart 
to the class-room, -and when the proper time 
came, she stepped forward and deposited it on 
the stand that sat in the center of the room. 
"When she turned the coins out of her hand 
upon the table, they glittered in the sunlight 
of that beautiful morning. Then the tempter 
said, " Sallie, that is a good deal of money for 
you to give at once," and for a moment she 



66 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



wished it back. Never afterward did this sis- 
ter, under any circumstances, allow herself to 
fall behind with her Church dues. She had no 
rest with the Lord's money in her hands after 
it was due. Let there be no delay in this mat- 
ter ; escape this temptation by paying now thy 
vows unto the Lord. 

That you may avoid arrearages and their 
consequent evils, follow St. Paul's advice to the 
Corinthians concerning the collection for the 
poor saints: "Upon the first day of the week 
let every one of you lay by him in store, as 
God hath prospered him." Paul had doubtless 
discovered the value of frequent small savings, 
and had, perhaps, realized the difficulty of 
reaching large totals by occasional collections. 
The weekly contribution will doubtless enable 
you to meet your financial obligations with the 
greatest ease. This also was Mr. "Wesley's plan 
for raising Church moneys — "a penny a week." 
No phrase respecting finance was more familiar 
to the ear of primitive Methodists. By the 
system of weekly pennies from the Lord's poor, 
Churches were built, debts were liquidated, and 
the ministry sustained. In this country, out- 
side the cities, the custom of paying all moneys 
for ministerial support, quarterly, has largely 



YOUR FINANCIAL DUTY. 



67 



obtained, the collections being made on the 
recurrence of the quarterly meeting. But the 
plan has worked very indifferently, and there 
is now a general effort to return to the prim- 
itive style, " a penny a week." This should be 
the uniform method. Wherever, therefore, the 
stewards endeavor to adopt this plan for meet- 
ing the financial obligations of the Church, you 
should practically encourage it, that it may 
become general. But though it be not adopted 
by your particular Church or society, it will still 
prove useful to you to follow the advice of St. 
Paul — have a Lord's treasury, and on the first 
day of each week, put therein w T hat belongs to 
him. This system will enable you to give read- 
ily what you have been assessed or consented to 
give, and will relieve the steward of the neces- 
sity of calling several times before you are pre- 
pared to pay. It requires of the collector no 
small sacrifice of time to canvass the entire 
membership for the installments due, even were 
they ready in hand ; but if he must call twice 
or thrice before he can see you, and then again 
before you are prepared to meet the claim, his 
unremunerated labor becomes burdensome, the 
sacrifice of precious business hours intolerable, 
and the whole matter humiliating to yourself. 



I 



68 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

It was to prevent this irregularity, waste of 
time, and humiliation, that St. Paul wrote the 
Corinthian brethren to lay by them a portion 
on the first day of the week as God had pros- 
pered them, " That there be no gatherings when 
I come" 

Another advice may be of use here: Pay 
willingly, not grudgingly. " The Lord loveth a 
cheerful giver." Do not look on the steward of 
the Lord's house with a severe eye as if he were 
an extortionate tax gatherer. He is a brother 
in the same Church with yourself, pays his own 
dues, and performs this work by appointment 
according to the Discipline, and without remu- 
neration. How cruel and unbrotherly it is to 
detain him with complaints, and at last cast 
the unwilling installment into his lap with 
harsh words. Those who do so forget their holy 
Church vows, and the teaching of God's Word 
both in reference to the obligation and spirit of 
Christian benevolence. Bather number your- 
self with those whose piety extends a controll- 
ing influence over their worldly goods; who 
acknowledge the necessary office of steward, 
and who perform willingly their financial obli- 
gations to God. Flood him not with com- 
plaints ; but speak a kind word ; ask after the 



YOUR FINANCIAL DUTY. 69 



financial state of the Church; if necessary, and 
you are able, give more than your apportion- 
ment ; encourage him in his laborious and gra- 
tuitous task. 

But if you would excel in the performance 
of your financial duty bring your offerings to 
the house of the Lord. This was the primitive 
Methodist style. The leaders were to receive 
what the members had to give to the Church 
and the poor at their meetings, not to collect it 
by canvassing the society. This custom was 
also more ancient than Methodism. How beau- 
tiful and impressive those thank-offerings of the 
Jews and the accompanying ceremony: " And 
it shall be when thou art come unto the land, 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an 
inheritance, and possessest it and dwellest 
therein; that thou shalt take the first of all 
the fruits of the earth, which thou shalt bring 
of thy land, that the Lord thy God giveth thee, 
and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto 
the place which the Lord thy God shalt choose 
to place his name there. And thou shalt go 
unto the priest, that shall be in those days, and 
say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord 
thy God, that I am come unto the country which 
the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us ; 



70 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



and the priest shall take the basket out of thine 
hand, and set it down before the altar of the 
Lord thy God." (Deut, xxvi, 1-4 ) 

Then, as in this case, and as in early Meth- 
odism, bring your offerings up to the house of 
the Lord, Stewards and collectors will still 
have enough to do to canvass among the sick 
and delinquent. 

As becometh a member 01 the Lord's house- 
hold, be "diligent in business," frugal, econom- 
ical ; use all honest endeavors to acquire of this 
world's goods that you may "have to give to 
him that needeth," and " more largely support 
the Gospel and the various benevolent enter- 
prises of tho Church," 



YOUB PASTOK. 



71 



CHAPTER VIII. 

YOUR PASTOR. 

Than those of consanguinity there are few 
relations more intimate than that of pastor and 
people. Those of landlord and tenant, of law- 
yer and client, physician and patient are not 
equal to it. It is a relationship of wider scope, 
of higher and more enduring interests. While 
it does not overlook the temporal, it has for its 
supreme object the highest possible end of 
man — the present and eternal salvation of the 
soul. To the Church in general, and to you in 
particular, the faithful pastor is of incalculable 
value. Possibly he has been, in the providence 
of God, the direct instrument of your conver- 
sion, and to him you naturally look for instruc- 
tion in spiritual things. At his hands you 
have received holy baptism, and the emblems 
of Christ's broken body and shed blood. In 
trouble — temporal or spiritual — he has been 
your counselor; and in sickness he has minis- 
tered to your relief, and at last he will stand at 



72 THE YOUNG CHUBCH MEMBER. 



the open grave to speak comforting words when 
you are called to mourn there. 

These are some of the very sacred offices 
the pastor is called to perform — offices which 
the faithful and conscientious minister dis- 
charges as he that must give an account; offices 
which, because they appertain to the most im- 
portant matters of your life, can not fail to 
bring you into intimate and affectionate rela- 
tions to him ; such relations as justly entitle 
him to your constant sympathy and most fer- 
vent prayers. You should, therefore, as a young 
Christian, deferentially recognize this relation ; 
respect and love your pastor ; freely confer with 
him about your plans and purposes, beliefs and 
experiences, your hopes and fears ; about the 
best books, the best methods, of holy living ; 
about the Church, and especially your partic- 
ular work therein. Thus, while you avail your- 
self of his greater experience, you also duly 
recognize his pastoral office ; and this is a mat- 
ter of no small importance, for you can not 
treat with indifference the official relation of 
your pastor without serious detriment to both 
yourself and him. Make it a rule to employ 
his ministerial service preferably to that of any 
other. Let him feel that he is your pastor. 



YOUE PASTOR. 



73 



But if in any case, as that of marriage, or 
funeral, or other special occasion, you should 
prefer the service of some other minister it will 
not be necessary, in order to secure it, to ignore 
your own pastor. Common courtesy would sug- 
gest that you frankly and kindly state the fact 
to him with such explanation as your prudence 
and judgment may dictate. Usually in instances 
of this kind there exists some peculiar relation 
or circumstance, which if merely mentioned, 
would make the calling of another minister ap- 
pear to him clearly appropriate. In such case 
invite the presence of your pastor, confer with 
him, and endeavor to make him feel that your 
preference is no disparagement to him. 

Assist the minister in his pastoral work by 
opening up your own heart to profitable con- 
versation , and by referring him to places where 
a pastoral visit would be acceptable and might 
be followed w r ith good results. Visiting from 
house to house in the discharge of this Scrip- 
tural and disciplinary duty is, perhaps, the most 
difficult work that devolves upon the minister 
of the Gospel. The hindrances to its success- 
ful performance are numerous. Sometimes, on 
the part of the pastor it is a " foolish bashful- 
ness," or an unaccountable * ' dullness," or a fear 



74 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

of inconveniencing the family ; and on the part 
of the family it may be a total misapprehension 
of the nature and object of a pastoral visit — 
that it is of a merely social nature, and hence 
they devote themselves to this end. Thus be- 
tween parties the real pastoral work is mainly 
defeated. The pastor may return home and 
enter in his journal, " visit to brother A/s 
but he really feels that his endeavor was unsuc- 
cessful. Consider then the difficulties that at- 
tend this department of the minister's work and 
as much as in you lies remove all hindrances 
and embarrassments out of the w T ay. Do not 
seek to divert him from his purpose by the, 
persistent introduction of secular matters, or 
by unnecessarily engaging the family in their 
ordinary duties. If, in the providence of 
God, you stand at the head of the house- 
hold, and it should be convenient to have fam- 
ily prayer, do not hesitate to hand the min- 
ister the Bible, and request him to conduct the 
worship. This freedom and religious turn of 
conversation will greatly relieve the embarrass- 
ment incident to pastoral work, and make the 
occasion one of real pleasure and spiritual 
edification. 

Do not be too exacting of pastoral service. 



YOUR PASTOR. 



75 



Let the minister have more time for pulpit 
preparation, for visiting the sick, the aged, the 
neglectful and those who have no Church rela- 
tions. Would not this be a wiser and more 
judicious use of his time, and more perfectly 
meet the great design of the pastoral office? 
Co-operate with the minister in every good 
enterprise — in any local missionary work, in 
taking the usual benevolent collections, and in 
such special series of meetings, as he may pro- 
pose to hold, for the conversion of souls. Here 
you should fall readily into his methods, and 
render constant and hearty assistance. Let no 
foolish bashfulness, or difference of opinion as 
to plans, betray you into the spirit of indiffer- 
ence and final opposition. A general may err 
in the wisdom of his military plans, but not- 
withstanding, prompt and vigorous execution 
on the part of the soldiery, is infinitely better 
than hesitancy of action. Esteem your pastor 
highly in love for his work's sake ; esteem him 
in his official capacity — this is due — but espe- 
cially for his " work's sake." Consider the re- 
lation he sustains to the Church, and how 
necessary and beneficial he is to the cause of 
Christ. But let all your esteem be grounded 
in Christian love. In style, or strength, or 



76 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

method, he may not fill your idea of a Gospel 
minister, may not possess all the excellences 
you might desire ; but, while he is going on 
discharging his duty well, conscientiously, and 
according to the extent of his ability, he is 
deserving of your Christian love and heartiest 
co-operation. Recognize him as a messenger of 
God, hold him dear in your heart, and as 
Aaron and Hur steadied the hands of Moses, 
so sustain your pastor with your sympathy and 
prayers. 

Of adverse criticisms be sparing, utter no 
hasty and unjust complaints; magnify his virtues 
rather than his faults. If he must be informed 
of any impropriety or faults in him, it is advi- 
sable that it be done by some person of age or 
experience, and that frankly and kindly. The 
Discipline makes it the duty 01 the stewards 
' ' to tell the preachers what they think wrong 
in them ;" but it is because they are generally 
men of experience ; it is not designed to exempt 
others from faithfulness to the pastor in respect 
to this matter. 

If he is timid or self-distrusting, or melan- 
choly, encourage him by a judicious commen- 
dation of his excellencies, or for any specially 
good service he may have rendered. Self-con- 



YOUR PASTOR. 



77 



fident men need little such encouragement, but 
others may be safely helped thereby. 6 'It may 
give courage and confidence, or spur on to re- 
newed exertion, when it is found that what has 
been already done is appreciated." ' ' It is not best 
to wait till a man is dead before you say a kind 
word of him, but let the word of praise be the 
word of truth." To toil on in his charge for 
months without hearing prayers in his behalf 
or words of approval, occasions doubt whether 
his ministry is acceptable and profitable. Let 
him know that he has your esteem, sympathy, 
and co-operation, and your relationship w T ill 
become all the more endearing, and his service 
to the Church more cheerful and permanently 
useful. 



78 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



CHAPTER IX. 

YOUR OWN CHURCH. 

Prominent among the reasons, it must be 
presumed, for your being a member of this 
particular branch of the- Church are, that its 
doctrines, government, and usages more nearly 
accord with your own views ; that you find 
therein the greatest spiritual help in working 
out your soul's salvation ; and that it affords 
you the largest opportunity for the free and full 
exercise of all your talents. 

Having for these good reasons identified 
yourself with the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
unswerving loyalty thereto may justly be ex- 
pected ; that you attend upon her religious serv- 
ices, that you love and defend her doctrines and 
Discipline ; and that in preference to all others, 
you patronize her schools and colleges, books 
and periodicals, and sustain her various benev- 
olent societies. 

Supreme devotion to the Church of your 
choice need not lessen your regard for the 



YOUR OWN CHUECH, 



79 



Church universal; you should hold all the 
bodies of God's people in high esteem ; wish 
them God-speed, worship with them, and assist 
them whenever opportunity offers; but you 
should love your own Church above all others, 
make it your spiritual home, and direct and 
expend all your religious energies through its 
established channels. This will give greater 
unity and directness to your Christian activi- 
ties, and secure far greater results than if your 
affections and labors are divided and scattered 
among the various denominations. 

Christian enthusiasts who go forth into the 
world to do good without any particular Church 
relation, assuming to ignore all distinctive sys- 
tems of doctrine, forms of ecclesiasticism and 
denominational peculiarities, do not prove them- 
selves to be the safest and most successful spir- 
itual guides. 

A fault of many Methodists is too great a 
liberalism, a false notion of denominational 
courtesy, a seeming belief that the books, peri- 
odicals and colleges of other Churches are 
superior to their own. Yielding to this fault 
Methodist people not unfrequently turn aside 
from the educational institutions of their own 
Church and foolishly patronize even Catholic 
6 



80 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

schools. Does not such a course betray disloy- 
alty to the Church, and also ignorance of the 
respective merits of these institutions ? It is not 
presumptuous to say that these papal schools 
being taught by a class of secluded women, 
who are ignorant of the progress, the realities, 
and necessities of the world they live in ; whose 
chief excellence consists in picture-making and 
needle-work, are not only not superior but alto- 
gether inferior to those of Protestantism. Is 
it claimed that the morals of the children are 
better protected here than in Protestant insti- 
tutions ? In this respect the schools of the nun- 
nery can certainly boast no pre-eminence over 
the Protestant college. They may have more 
refined ways of sinning, and more successful 
methods of concealing scandal, but certainly 
they are not more successful in protecting the 
morals of their students. Besides, did those 
who are so confident in patronizing these papal 
schools know the Jesuitical cunning that is so 
thoroughly and constantly practiced to convert 
their children to the Catholic faith, and witness 
some little of their success, they would hesitate 
at the thought of exposing their daughters to 
such influence. 

Not less reprehensible is the folly of patron- 



YOUR OWN CHURCH. 



81 



izing outside publications and those of other 
denominations at the sacrifice of our own. If 
it is done with the hope of finding something 
superior, there is no reasonable ground for such 
hope; and if there were, loyalty to your own 
Church would require that you should patron- 
ize its publications, and thus endeavor to make 
their superiority more possible. The principle 
here advocated is not one of opposition, or even 
of- indifference toward other Christian Churches, 
but of practical concern for your own. The 
idea that denominational courtesy requires you 
to alternate your presence and share your pat- 
ronage and benefactions is a false one. Your 
presence and your temporal support belong to 
the Church of which you are a member, and it 
is only when you have discharged your obliga- 
tions here that you can consistently go abroad 
to help your neighboring Church. You say 
this is sectarianism. Well, is it a scandal to 
be a sectarian ? Is it evidence of narrowness 
for a Christian to be a Presbyterian and not a 
Baptist ? or a Baptist and not a Presbyterian ; 
or to be a Methodist and neither a Baptist nor 
Presbyterian ? Earnest Christian life is quite 
consistent with strong denominational preju- 
dices. That you have a decided preference for 



82 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



your own home is not to be construed that you 
very much dislike your neighbor's home. In 
order to be generous and charitable some dip 
over to the other extreme, and cast away doc- 
trine, government, experience, conscience, all. 
"What do you believe?" " I have no doctrine 
well defined." "What is your experience?" 
"I have none special to relate." "Where do 
you labor ?" " Everywhere in general ;" and if 
they should tell the truth, nowhere in particu- 
lar. Undoubtedly we should be liberal in our 
views and courteous in our behavior toward all 
other Churches ; and what people are more so 
than Methodists? They have been called "a 
friendly nation." But to exhibit these good 
manners does not require us to abandon our 
doctrines and our own field of labor : this would 
tend not to strengthen, but to w 7 eaken the great 
Church of Christ. Good will and true cour- 
tesy tow r ard all, but loyalty to the Church of 
your adoption should ever be your motto. 



YOUR BOOKS. 



83 



CHAPTER X. 

YOUR BOOKS. 

As a Christian and member of the Church 
you should avail yourseli of whatever may 
make you wise and useful. A good book is an 
invaluable aid in the attainment of these ends. 
" Except a living man," said Bishop Kingsley, 
" there is nothing more wonderful than a book, 
a message to us from the dead, from human 
souls we never saw T , who lived, perhaps, a thou- 
sand miles away; and yet speak to us, amuse us, 
terrify us ; teach us, comfort us, and open their 
hearts to us like brothers." 

"When a boy," says Benjamin Franklin, 
"I read a little book entitled ' Essays to do 
Good/ by Cotton Mather. It was tattered and 
torn, and several leaves were missing, but the 
remainder gave me such a turn of thinking as 
to have an influence on my conduct through 
life ; and if I have been a useful citizen, the 
public owes all the advantages to that little book." 
No one can estimate the influence of a book. 
One little volume may revolutionize a coun- 



84 THE YOUNG CHUKCH MEMBER. 



try. Thomas Paine's "Theses" were an incal- 
culable power in determining the result of the 
Kevolutionary struggles of this country, and 
his "Age of Keason" has made thousands of 
infidels. 

In view of the influence of books and litera- 
ture in general upon the mind and heart, great 
care should be exercised in the selection of your 
reading matter. Do you ask " What shall I 
read?" Certainly not every thing indiscrim- 
inately Cecil said, "I have something else to 
do in the short day allotted me, than to read 
what any body may write." This was wisely 
said, for the ruin of many a soul dates from 
the time of reading an idle and pernicious book. 
In answering this question, it must be presumed 
that as a Christian you will eliminate from the 
catalogue of your reading all that is unques- 
tionably of an evil tendency. But there is 
much that is certainly of such a tendency that 
is not plainly so. Its deleterious points are so 
well disguised as to be of difficult detection, so 
nearly imperceptible as to excite little appre- 
hension, and yet enough to create unhealthy 
ideas about matters of religion, to unsettle the 
faith, and slowly but certainly destroy the soul. 
All, therefore, that is of a suspicious character, 



YOUK BOOKS. 



85 



as a Christian you will condemn, and likewise 
all that is simply useless, that would consume 
your time to no purpose. 

As a Christian and Methodist the Bible, the 
book of Discipline, and the Hymnal should be 
your foundation books. The first is your only 
recognized divine book, which, in the language 
of the Discipline, " is the only rule, and the 
sufficient rule, both of our faith and practice." 
It is the book of appeal in all questions; God's 
message to us, and which he would have us 
make the man of our counsel, the book above 
all others. " God looks down," wrote the 
sainted Richard Baxter, "with a jealous eye, 
to see if we prefer any book in the morning 
before his own." 

The book of Discipline contains a brief state- 
ment of the doctrines of the Church, the Gen- 
eral Rules, its government, temporal economy, 
ritual, and much other matter which relates to 
the life and spirit of godliness. A knowledge 
of this book is indispensable to you as a Meth- 
odist. The Church hymnal happily expresses 
in meter the same great Bible doctrines accord- 
ing to our distinctive theology, and its proper 
use tends greatly to promote the spirit of pub- 
lic and private worship. It is invaluable ; your 



86 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



religion must have song. Familiarize yourself 
with the Bible, the Discipline, and the Hymnal, 
and you will possess valuable knowledge of God, 
of the Church, and of your soul. 

But many other books will be accessible and 
profitable to you as a Christian. Among those 
designed to promote your spirituality may be 
mentioned biographies of eminently holy men 
and women. O what multitudes have been 
encouraged in faith and Christian activity by 
the perusal of the memoirs of William Car- 
vosso, Hester Ann Sogers, Lady Maxwell, etc. 

As aids to the better understanding of the 
holy Scriptures you will find among the publi- 
cations of your own Church many of the finest 
commentaries ever written. Of works on sys- 
tematic theology, and of others which bear on 
the various phases of the Christian life, there 
are many, and of the greatest merit. Only 
obtain and read them. Secure the service of 
your pastor or of some other person who is 
familiar with books to aid you in selecting and 
arranging a course of reading for a given period. 
When through this course arrange another and 
thus read by system. Peruse some pages every 
day. This will have the effect to preserve inter- 
est in the subject of the book, and to conduct 



YOUR BOOKS. 



87 



you profitably through a number of volumes 
in a brief period. Even that which the busy 
housewife, or industrious farmer, or day laborer, 
or assiduous merchant may read during spare 
moments will amount to much and prove inval- 
uable to the reader. Like the gold filings in 
the jeweler's shop, the busy man's spare mo- 
ments are worthy to be gathered up. One half 
hour devoted each day to books will conduct 
you through the Bible — the largest and best 
book — in less than a year ; it will acquaint you 
with one good work on theology, one on phi- 
losophy, one on geology, and others on history, 
biography, and travels, besides much miscella- 
neous reading, in the same brief period ; and 
if continued from year to year, will secure to 
you the requisite qualifications for all the ordi- 
nary requirements of business, religious, and 
social life. 

That your reading may be more profitable, 
read thoughtfully, meditatively, not like the 
antelope flitting through the forest, passing 
shrub and oak, flower and fern, rivulet, dell, and 
mound with equal indifference ; but rather with 
the consideration of a wise man, who has come 
to locate a section of land, and select a site for 
his dwelling. To read thoughtlessly, as the 



88 THE YOUXG CHUBCH MEMBER. 



sand runs through the hour glass, making no 
points except to indicate how far you have 
gotten, is little better than time thrown away. 
" To the soul reading is eating, but meditation 
is digestion." 

Let not then the argument of a large circu- 
lation, a wide popularity, or the embellishment 
of strange grotesque pictures, or the promise of 
regular contribution from the pen of some cel- 
ebrated novelist, or a beautiful and highly orna- 
mental binding, beguile you into the patronage 
of either book, magazine or weekly paper, that 
is of an irreligious or even doubtful moral char- 
acter. Having the Book of books as your chief 
guide, be judicious in the selection of all other 
reading matter, daily in the use of it; and mean- 
while consecrate both your reading and your- 
self to the service of the Lord Jesus. 



CHURCH LETTERS. 



89 



CHAPTER XL 

USE AND ABUSE OF CHURCH LETTERS. 

In the providence of God you may be occa- 
sionally called to change your place of residence, 
a circumstance which will render you a stranger 
to the Christian society of the community in 
which you locate. It is the object of a Church 
certificate to introduce and recommend you to 
such new society, that you may be entitled to 
their Christian fellowship. If you are a mem- 
ber of the Church in good standing, and intend 
to transfer your membership to some other soci- 
ety beyond the bounds of the pastoral charge 
in which you reside, you are justly entitled to 
such recommendation, which will be freely given 
by your pastor. 

The Discipline makes it the duty of the pas- 
tor to inform all, from time to time, that with- 
out such certificate none will be received into 
the Church in other places. Certificates are 
also given -probationers of the Church when 
moving from one charge to another, stating the 



90 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



time when they joined, and whether they have 
been baptized. 

To those who travel abroad or locate in new 
places a recommendation from the Church is 
of great value. Paul and Silas must have ap- 
preciated this fact when they "departed, being 
recommended by the brethren and Barnabas 
must afterward have felt the need of it when 
without waiting he " took Mark and sailed unto 
Cyprus." But once afterward do we authenti- 
cally hear from him. 

To illustrate: A young man in the pursuit 
of his worldly business leaves the Christian 
society of his native place, and goes into a 
strange city. He passes multitudes of busy 
people in the streets, doubtless among them 
many Christians, but he is recognized only a: a 
stranger. Sabbath morning comes, and he sits 
in the house of God looking in vain for one 
familiar face. His letter of recommendation he 
has happily brought with him, and when the 
time is announced for persons to join the 
Church, he promptly goes forward and piesents 
N his certificate of membership ; it is read to the 
congregation, and he is tenderly commended 
by the pastor to the Christian consideration of 
the Church; and thus at once he is introduced 



CHURCH LETTERS. 



91 



to a large circle of Christian citizens who extend 
to him a cordial welcome, invite him to their 
religious meetings, and initiate him into active 
Church work. The stranger now feels that he 
has a home. Such an introduction may also 
open up to him a way for the pursuit of his 
secular business. But for this certificate, timely 
presented, his first and fast associations might 
have been among those who knew not God, and 
whose influence might have ultimately destroyed 
his religious character. Do not retain your cer- 
tificate of membership. At the earliest practi- 
cable day after your settlement in a place hand 
it to the Church. It is given in good faith to 
recommend you to the fellowship of God's peo- 
ple and not to retire on. To retain it, there- 
fore, from year to year is to violate the object 
for which it is given, as well as to deprive your- 
self of the right of that Christian fellowship 
which you specially need in the new and strange 
community. 

Two Methodist families from different parts 
of the country settled in the same city. One 
of those families immediately presented them- 
selves and their letters to the Church ; they 
were cordially welcomed, shortly received many 
calls from the good people, and were soon 



92 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



acquainted with the social and religious inter- 
ests of the town. The other family withheld 
their certificates, seldom appeared in the meet- 
ings, and consequently were not recognized as 
members of the Church. They made acquaint- 
ances slowly and quite as frequently with the 
irreligious as with the Christian people. For- 
getting the fact that they were not known to 
be Church members; they began to complain 
that the Church was unfriendly, proud, and 
selfish, and not at all like that in the place of 
their former home. As a consequence this fam- 
ily was for years comparatively unknown to the 
Church, and their associations were chiefly with 
the worldly. Many similar instances might be 
related illustrating the use and abuse of Church 
letters. 

In case of removal, therefore, do not neg- 
lect to apply for your certificate of membership. 
Many are careful to collect all debts, to secme 
all their worldly interests, but neglect to call 
for their Church letters, which, in their new 
home, may be of the greatest importance to 
their spiritual welfare. Forget not the Church 
letter, bear it with you ; omit nothing that may 
prove so useful to you in your new surround- 
ings. Accept the first opportunity to hand it 



CHURCH LETTERS. 



93 



in to the Church; attend faithfully the meet- 
ings; quickly identify yourself with all the 
religious interests of the new society, and thus 
bring strength, and not weakness to the Church 
from which you derive the blessings of Chris- 
tian fellowship. 



94 



THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



CHAPTER XII. 

DUTY IN THE SOCIAL MEETING. 

By the social meeting is generally meant 
the prayer-meeting; but in Methodism it also 
includes the class-meeting, love-feast, and all 
religious gatherings except those for public 
preaching. The social meeting usually consists 
of sacred songs, short speeches, and prayers. It 
has the practical sanction of the early Church, 
and is an indispensable means of grace. We 
can hardly conceive how a Church could exist 
and maintain a respectable spirituality without 
the social meeting ; certainly in the develop- 
ment of spiritual gifts and evangelizing power 
it would prove sadly deficient. 

The efficiency and enjoyableness of the social 
meeting depend largely on its proper manage- 
ment and the spirit and capacity of those who 
publicly participate in it. But who should par- 
ticipate? If possible, all. Every member of the 
Church ought to be able intelligently to express 
religious thought and feeling in the form of 



DUTY IN THE SOCIAL MEETING. 95 



address, or to lead the devotions of a public or 
private meeting. That you may do so to edifi- 
cation, cultivate a devotional spirit. No excel- 
lence of speech, however chaste and appropri- 
ate, will atone before a throne of grace, for the 
lack of the spirit of supplication. 

To this end study the elements which prop- 
erly enter into prayer — adoration, invocation, 
confession, supplication, etc. Keflect on the 
majesty of God's character : on his works and 
providences ; on your own sinfulness and the 
greatness of your salvation, through Christ 
Jesus, and a devotional aspect of every thing 
will rise up in your mind. Meditate on the 
"Word of God and plead its promises in prayer. 

' ' In addressing the Deity," says Kidder in 
his Homiletics, "no language can be more 
proper than that of Scripture. The words of 
inspiration are characterized by a dignity, an 
expressiveness, and an unction infinitely supe- 
rior, to the phrases and adornments of human 
rhetoric. Although the Bible contains but few 
examples of formal prayer, yet it abounds in 
devotional expressions, and with statements of 
- sacred truth, which, with a little paraphrasing, 
may be adapted to the uses of public and 
private worship. For this purpose they have 

7 



96 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



been employed in ages past, and their adapta- 
tion to it will never diminish. Few acquisitions 
are of greater importance than the memoriza- 
tion of an ample selection of passages of the 
divine Word in close association with the vari- 
ous attributes of God, the character and neces- 
sities of men, the leading features of the plan 
of salvation, and the glorious provisions of the 
Gospel of grace. Indeed, all Scripture given 
by inspiration of God is not only profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof and for instruction in 
righteousness, but also for the assistance of man 
in the offering of acceptable worship." 

At a throne of grace you should be able to 
use freely and appropriately many portions of 
the holy Scriptures. In pleading God's own 
Word w T e reach our highest power in prayer. 

" The best liturgies," says the above author, 
4 4 that have come down to us from past ages 
glow with sacred phrases and imagery, and it 
is in the pow T er of every one by study and 
effort to cause his prayers to partake of the 
same characteristics, and thus exert a most 
elevating influence on the religious feelings of 
others. In few respects does the divinity of the 
sacred volume appear more striking than in its 
wonderful adaptation to express the changing 



DUTY IN THE SOCIAL MEETING. 97 

sentiments and feelings of the human heart. 
And as its teachings are familiar to all Chris- 
tians there is no other language so well adapted 
to aid in arousing the solemn reflections, the 
adoring gratitude and the immortal hopes of a 
worshiping congregation." 

The following paraphrase of Scripture ar- 
ranged under the various heads of prayer sim- 
ilar to that of Dr. Kidder in his Homiletics, 
may serve to show how God's own words may 
be used in public and private devotion : 

ADORATION. 

" O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name 
in all the earth." (Ps. viii, 9.) " God is greatly 
to be feared, in the assembly of the saints, and 
to be had in reverence of all them that are 
about him." (Ps. lxxxix, 7.) "Thou, even 
thou, art Lord alone ; thou hast made heaven, 
the heaven of heavens, with all their host; the 
earth and all things that are therein : the seas 
and all that are therein ; and thou preservest 
them all, and the host of heaven worshipeth 
thee." (Neli. ix, 5, 6.) "We also will wor- 
ship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy 
name for thy loving kindness and for thy 
truth ; for thou hast magnified thy Word 



98 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

above all thy name." (Ps. cxxxviii, 2.) "O 
Lord of hosts, who is a strong Lord like 
unto thee, or to thy faithfulness round about 
thee?" (Ps. lxxxix, 8.) "The heavens are 
thine ; the earth also is thine ; as for the world 
and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded 
them." (Ps. lxxxix, 11.) << Justice and judg- 
ment are the habitation of thy throne ; mercy 
and truth shall go before thy face. Blessed is 
the people that know the joyful sound; they 
shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy coun- 
tenance." (Ps. lxxxix, 14, 15.) 

CONFESSION. 

0 Lord, thou hast taught us in thy holy 
World that "If we confess our sins, thou art 
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 
i, 9.) Therefore, ' ' have mercy upon us, 0 
God, according to thy loving kindness ; accord- 
ing unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, 
blot out our transgressions. For we acknowl- 
edge our transgressions, and our sin is ever 
before us." (Ps. li, 1-3.) Thou hast said: 
' ' He that covereth his sins shall not prosper ; 
but whoso confesseth and forsake th them shall 
have mercy" (Prov. xxviii, 13); and so hast 



DUTY IN THE SOCIAL MEETING. 99 

thy servant experienced, for, " I said, I will con- 
fess my transgression unto the Lord, and thou 
forgavest the iniquity of my sin." (Ps. xxxii, 5.) 
" There is no man that sinneth not." (1 Kings 
viii, 46.) " All we like sheep have gone astray; 
w T e have turned every one to his own way." 
(Isa. liii, 6.) We are children of disobedience, 
" among whom we all had our conversation in 
times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling 
the desires of the flesh and of the mind." (Eph. 
ii, 2, 3.) "I will declare mine iniquity ; I will 
be sorry for my sin." (Ps. xxxviii, 18.) 

PETITION AND SUPPLICATION. 

"Hear, O Lord, when we cry with our 
voice, have mercy also upon us, and answer 
us " (Ps. xxvii, 7) ; for we have heard that 
thou art "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful 
and gracious, long suffering and abundant in 
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thou- 
sands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and 
sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." 
(Ex. xxxiv, 6, 7.) " Give ear, therefore, to 
our prayer, O God, and hide not thyself from our 
supplications." (Ps. Iv, 1.) "Let our prayer 
be set forth before thee as incense ; and the 
lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice." 



100 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

(Ps. cxli, 2.) Lead us to the fountain that was 
" opened to the house of David and to the inhab- 
itants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness " 
(Zech. xiii, 1) ; cleanse us "by the washing of 
regeneration and the renewing of the Holy 
Ghost. That being justified by his grace we 
should be made heirs according to the hope of 
eternal life." (Titus hi, 5-7.) 

THANKSGIVING. 

" Let us come before his presence with 
thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him 
with Psalms." (Ps. xcv, 2.) "0 give thanks 
unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy 
endureth forever." (Ps. cxxxvi, 1.) "How 
precious also are thy thoughts unto us, 0 God ! 
how great is the sum of them." (Ps. cxxxix, 
17.) "What shall we render unto the Lord for 
all his benefits toward us ? We will take the 
cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the 
Lord ; we will pay our vows unto the Lord, now, 
in the presence of all his people." (Ps. cxvi, 
12-14.) "We will give thanks unto the Father 
which hath made us meet to be partakers of 
the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath 
delivered us from the power of darkness, and 
hath translated us into the kingdom of his 



DUTY IN THE SOCIAL. MEETING. 101 



dear Son, in whom we have redemption through 
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." (Col. 
i, 12-14.) 

INVOCATION. 

O thou " high and lofty one that inhabitest 
eternity, w T hose name is holy, who dwellest in 
the high and holy place, with him also that is 
of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the 
spirit of the humble and the heart of the con- 
trite ones" (Isa. lvii, 15); "who lookest from 
heaven and beholdest all the sons of men" (Ps. 
xxxiii, 13); thou, O " God, art our refuge 
and strength, a very present help in trouble." 
(Ps. xlvi, 1.) Thou wiliest not " that any 
should perish, but that all should come to re- 
pentance;" "a bruised reed thou wilt not break, 
the smoking flax thou wilt not quench." Thou 
hast said, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and 
the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him 
return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy 
upon him, and to our God, for he will abun- 
dantly pardon." 

Inasmuch as public prayer concerns others 
besides yourself it is needful that you should 
guard against whatever might mar its edify- 
ing effects. Among these may be mentioned, — 

1. Too great length. In the closet yourself 



102 THE YOUXG CHUKCH MEMBER. 



alone is concerned, and you may, and perhaps 
ought to tarry long; but in public — and, it 
should be added, in the family — your prayer 
should be short, ranging from one to three min- 
utes. Few things are more detrimental to the 
spirit and power of the social meeting than long 
prayers. They weary the body, dissipate relig- 
ious feeling, and, occupying the time, prevent 
the greater number from public participation in 
the meetings. Dr. Adam Clarke says, that from 
remaining too long on his knees listening to a 
prayer, he received an injury in his youth from 
winch he never recovered. Mr. Wesley care- 
fully guarded his preachers against lengthy 
prayers. And who does not remember Christ's 
severe condemnation of long prayers, especially 
those offered in public and with a pretense of 
unusual sanctity? The "Lord's Prayer" is a 
beautiful instance of brevity. Furthermore 
remember, 

11 God is in heaven, and men below, 
Be short our tunes, our words be few." 

2. Too low and indistinct tone of voice. Those 
who pray in public should pray with such distinct- 
ness and loudness as to be easily heard, other- 
wise they would as well pray in an " unknown 



DUTY IN THE SOCIAL MEETING. 103 

tongue," which St. Paul disapproves, as it does 
not tend to edification. (1 Cor. xiv.) 

That which more than any other cause ren- 
ders the excellent prayer of many Christians 
unavailable in the social meeting is, that they 
can not be heard. This frequently arises from 
the unfavorable posture assumed ; the person 
praying crouches down within the seat and cov- 
ers the face with the hands, thus smothering 
the voice, which if unobstructed might be suffi- 
ciently audible. Let this faulty attitude be 
avoided, and in the exercise of the gift of 
prayer in the social meeting, remember that 
others are silent, because you are praying, and 
so exercise your voice, therefore, that they may 
hear and know when to say "Amen at thy 
giving of thanks." 

3. Too great sameness. You have not unfre- 
quently heard those whose prayers seem com- 
pletely stereotyped; it matters not what may 
be the nature and circumstance of the meet- 
ing, whether for missions, Sabbath-schools, or 
mourners at the altar, the matter and form of 
the prayer is the same. This is a grievous 
fault that should be broken up. To this end 
be governed in your devotions by the various 
moral states of your own heart; for certainly 



104 THE YOUXG CHURCH MEMBER. 



your inward experience is not always the same. 
Are you not sometimes sad, sometimes joyful, 
sometimes oppressed with your worldly affairs, 
and again borne down under affliction and 
bereavement ? Can your prayer possibly be the 
same under these varied experiences? 

Consider the object for which the meeting 
has been called. Is it for a general revival, or 
for personal consecration, or for the recovery of 
the sick, or for missions? Whatever it is, let 
this be the burden of your prayer, or if you 
speak, the subject of your remarks. If no spe- 
cial subject has been announced then seize upon 
some sentiment of a hymn that may have been 
sung, or some passage of the Scripture lesson, 
that may have been read, and let it serve as 
the first expression and main thought of your 
prayer. 

Begin with some different element of prayer; 
now with confession of sin ; now with adoration 
of the Deity ; and again with petition, invoca- 
tion, thanksgiving, etc. Think of God in the 
many relations he sustains to you, as Creator, 
Preserver, Redeemer; as the source of all our 
blessings. Think of him in his various attri- 
butes, as justice, love, mercy, judgment, truth, 
etc. Think of him under his many titles, as 



DUTY IN THE SOCIAL MEETING. 105 



Lord, God, Jehovah, Redeemer, Savior, Heav- 
enly Father, etc. Follow these suggestions and 
you will avoid an invariable order of thought, 
and will have no occasion for that very fre- 
quent repetition of " O Lord," " Our Heavenly 
Father," " Great God," etc — a fault into which 
many have fallen. 

To stare about with open eyes as if endeav- 
oring to see God ; to gesticulate as if delivering 
an oration ; the long narration of facts and inci- 
dents, as if God needed information ; expres- 
sions complimentary of the audience or of a 
sermon ; gross and careless inaccuracies of lan- 
guage, — these are among the serious faults that 
ought to be avoided in public prayer. 

To those who speak in the religious meet- 
ings, a few words may prove useful. The gift 
of speech is much to be coveted. It was 
highly commended by St. Paul in the Corin- 
thian Church. " I thank my God always con- 
cerning you, for the grace of God which was 
given you in Christ Jesus, that in every thing 
ye were enriched in him ; in all utterance and 
all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ 
was confirmed in you, so that ye came behind 
in no gift." A ready and prudent " utterance" 
of Christian experience and Scripture truths 



106 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 

adds much to the edification and religious inter- 
est of the social meeting. A few words here 
4 'fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pictures 
of silver." But how often are these precious 
truths and experiences imprisoned in the soul 
by the tongue that refuses to give them utter- 
ance ; and of what treasures of edifying knowl- 
edge is the Church thus often deprived. 

Why do so few venture to speak in the social 
meetings? Doubtless some are silent because 
they have no religious experience to relate. 
Charles Wesley said — 

"What we have felt and seen, 
With confidence we tell." 

But these have felt nothing and seen noth- 
ing in Christ ; there is no religious heat in the 
soul, seeking vent ; no Pentecost of the Spirit, 
and hence no tongue of fire. Let not this be 
the reason for your silence. Seek a full heart, 
and your utterance will be sufficiently fluent. 
Perhaps you have a willing heart, but the 
tongue is fettered by a foolish timidity. Con- 
sider whether your timidity, which you boast 
as a virtue, does not amount to a sin, a sin 
against yourself, the brotherhood and God — a 
sin to be overcome. Consider whether it is not 



DUTY IN THE SOCIAL MEETING. 107 



the spirit of pride that has enjoined silence 
upon you. Have you said as Moses did, "I 
am not eloquent?" Do you decline to speak 
at all because you can not speak as fluently as 
some one else ? And is not this pride ? The 
greater gift of utterance in your brother does 
not exempt you from the exercise of your own : 
only open your mouth and you will have some- 
thing to say. 

Perhaps the greatest hindr nee to speaking 
in the social meeting is the erroneous notion 
that you are expected to make a "speech," to 
deliver a discourse of some length, of gram- 
matical construction and of considerable rhetor- 
ical excellence. This is a mistake. No set 
speech or literary address is wanted in the social 
meeting. All that is desired is the plain, sim- 
ple, unadorned expression of some phase of ycur 
religious experience, some observation you have 
made, or some high purpose and effort of your 
life. The simple recital of some verse of holy 
Scripture as, "Therefore, being justified by 
faith, we have peace with God, through our 
Lord Jesus Christ;" or " The life which I now 
live in the flesh, I live by the faith or the Son 
of God, who loved me and gave himself for 
me;" or "We love him, because he first loved 



108 THE YOUNG CHURCH MEMBER. 



us," may be exceedingly appropriate and beau- 
tifully expressive of your own feelings; and 
could not fail to produce a happy effect on the 
meeting. Such use may also be made of our 
excellent hymns. These most happily express 
every phase of Christian experience, as the rest- 
ing of the "weary" soul on " Jesus's breast;" 
or the quenching of spiritual thirst at the foun- 
tain of " living waters," as versified in the 426th 
of the Hymnal ; or the expressing of gratitude 
to God for the— 

" Amazing grace ! (how sweet the sound), 
That saved a wretch like me." 

Or His providence that safely brought us 

" Through many dangers, toils, and snares;" 

Or, the longing of the Christian heart 

" To tell the old, old story 
Of Jesus and his love." 

A copy of these hymns you are likely to 
have in hand as you sit in the meeting. What 
could be more simple and impressive than, at 
the proper time, to rise and read, or recite from 
memory, a selection therefrom. If you should 
wish to make more extended remarks it would 
still be well to preface the same by some 



DUTY IN THE SOCIAL MEETING. 109 



Hymnal or Scripture quotation. This would 
tend to give a more pleasing turn of thought 
to what you might wish to say and make your 
address more impressive. 

To prevent monotony of thought or speech 
think over the events of the week, what conver- 
sation you have had with any one, what book 
you have been reading ; or what peculiar temp- 
tations and trials you have suffered, or joys you 
have experienced ; or whether the comm unity- 
has been visited by death, or any unusual 
sickness or calamity, and make such reflections 
on these events as may occur to your mind. 

Be brief. Under no circumstances speak 
over a few minutes, generally less than one. 
Brevity will serve the occasion better than pro- 
lixity, and besides will atone for any defects in 
the speaker. Conform your remarks to the 
nature of the meeting, and speak to the sub- 
ject, if one has been announced. Speak from 
a sense of duty, a desire to edify, and speak on 
all proper occasions. 

Following these suggestions you will soon 
attain to that prudent and ready utterance for 
which the Corinthian brethren were commended, 
and by which you may be able to ' 6 edify one 
another" in the social meeting. 



110 THE YOUNG CHUECH MEMBER. 



CONCLUSION. 

In the preceding pages it has been assumed 
that you sincerely desire to be helped in the 
formation of a truly religious character, and 
in all that is required to make up a faithful 
and substantial Church member. These are the 
two sides of the Christian life. 

There are those who endeavor to make their 
religious lives consist only of a spiritual rhap- 
sody; they are chilled by the mere mention of 
the temporal demands of the Church. On the 
other hand there are those generous men who 
ardently love the organization and are ever 
ready to sustain it with purse and speech, but 
who are wanting in vital piety. 

Church membership implies both — the expe- 
rience and the duty; and if you aspire to be 
great in the kingdom of God, remember these 
must be united. If you desire the highest 
knowledge that can possibly be attained on 
earth you must have the knowledge of God in 
your soul, and if you would engage in the loftiest 



CONCLUSION, 



111 



employment possible to a mortal man then be- 
come a ' 4 worker together with Him " in the 
divine society. 

Firm conviction of privilege and duty as a 
member of the Church, and prompt and con- 
stant obedience to that conviction, will secure 
to you vigorous spiritual life and superior use- 
fulness ; and to future generations of the 
Church a potency and aggressiveness hitherto 
not known. 

It is hoped that you fully appreciate these 
duties and privileges as a member of the Church 
militant, and that you may finally be promoted 
to high and everlasting membership in the 
Church triumphant. 

8 



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